A Second Chance To Live or Die
by Miss Queen B
Summary: Sequel to WalMart of the Dead. Two years have past since Bianca and Matt were rescued and now living in a safe place. Better and Longer summary inside. Complete!
1. Prologue

**Author's note: I'm back with the sequel of my last story. You could say it was different from what you'd normally read and I wasn't planning on doing a sequael and just kill off all my characters including the main ones. It was a way to say sorry to my friends and my brother who'd read my story. **

"**_Why did you kill me off the story, Bianca!_" my brother shouted at me on the phone one day "_you should've killed off Marc or your goofy looking friends_" **

"**_Sorry Eric, but don't worry I'm going to kill off the main characters at the end, ok_" **

**But when I was typing up the last three chapters, ideas started popping into my head so I'm sorry, my brother, but the two main character lives!**

**Summary:** **It been two years since Bianca and her friend were rescued and live in a safe town but their new life wasn't as great as they thought it would be. During the two years, they were living as slaves to an old rich woman who has the power to kick them out of the town and into the dead world again. Til one day, Bainca found out that her parents were alive and living in a town in Texas. Which gives Bianca an excuse to leave the town and the old woman's grasp.

* * *

**

**Prologue: Dream**

_I opened my eyes to find myself back at my house and no zombies in sight. But it was odd because I found myself reliving the day before the zombie invasion happened. I was in my kitchen with my brother listening to my mother talking to us before she went to work. _

"_If Marc is coming over for the week you have to make sure he picks up after himself" My mom said _

"_I will mom, I'm not a kid anymore" Eric said _

_Mom rolled her eyes as she grabbed her car keys "Just clean up the living room before he comes over and if you're getting some beer later on make sure you put gas in your car" Mom said_

"_Yes, mom" _

"_And Bianca, if you don't feel like cooking I left some money to order some pizzas" she said_

_I nodded then she gave me a hug "I'll be back around eight, see you later" she said then went out and closed the door behind her. I never thought that would be the last time I see her again as I walked back to my room. I fell on my bed and stared at the ceiling with Marc on my mind. _

_Then somehow I found myself seeing what my mom was seeing. I saw her driving up to a gas station she worked at. Everything was going fine that day for her, the usual customers and the same employees she sees every day. _

_She even called my brother to see how we were doing._

"_Hey Eric, how's it going" she asked over the phone_

"_Fine, Marc made it but he also brought his girlfriend with him" he sighed_

_Mom sighs "I thought you said only he was staying"_

"_I thought so too but at the last minute he told me he was bringing her" _

"_Fine, put Bianca on the phone" she asked_

"_She went to Wal-Mart . . . again and won't be back in an hour or two" he said_

"_Oh, just call me back when she gets home" _

"_Ok, bye mom"_

"_Bye" Mom said_

_Hours pass and the day turned into a warm night. My mom was locking up the store when she noticed Marines running around the place or chasing other people. She watches as four of them tackled a man down and beat him to death._

"_What's going on" _

"_I don't know" Mom said _

_The other employees gather around the glass window when suddenly they scream when a blood cover woman slammed against the glass door. They backed away a bit and froze when the woman was trying to get in. _

"_She might need help" a young employee said as he ran over and opened the door to let the woman in. My mom watched as the woman roar and bit the young teen in the neck and tore a piece of flesh off. The others screamed as blood poured out of his neck. But before the woman could bite anyone else, a bullet pierced through her head and she collapsed to the floor. _

_My mom and the other stood there, stunned as men from the marines came in._

"_No time to explain, we're taking you a safe place, now" one of them said_

"_What's going on" _

"_What's wrong" _

"_Where are you taking us?" Many of the employees asked as they were push out of the store._

"_Wait, let me call my children" Mom said rushing to phone. _

_Instead she was grabbed by the arm and was pushed out of the store along with the others. "Please, my kids are alone at home, I need to talk to them, please"_

_My mom saw another person in the same condition like the woman running over with blood dripping from his mouth. My mom covered her eyes as another shot was fire and blew the guy's head off. She was shoved onto a bus and forced to sit down as the bus drove off to the base. My mom was dropped off at somewhere in the base with other people all asking the same question._

"_What's going on?" Mom asked everyone while looking for a phone and cursing herself for forgetting her cell phone. _

_Hours past and the sun was rasing and unknowing to her the zombie's population was increasing. She was up all night worrying about me, my brother and my father and still doesn't have the slightest clue what was going on._

_She overheard some people talking about the people that were attacking were dead but she thought that was silly and made her think of me more since I love zombie video games. _

_Another two hours had past when she met up with my father._

"_Where have you been, we need to get home to get Bianca and Eric?" she said_

_My father sadly shook his head "I drove over there earlier to bring them here but they weren't there"_

_My mother went pale "what do you mean they weren't there? Whatever is happening out there, they're smart enough to stay in the house"_

"_The whole house is covered in blood, there's a dead teenager and the car is missing. I don't know where they are" _

_My mom started to cry believing we were dead and was half right you could say. I watched her cry and I couldn't move or shout that I was all right. _

_I was wondering if I was dead as well knowing I lost a lot of blood from the bus crash. Suddenly time fast forward and stopped at the time the zombies smashed through the base and begin eating the survivors. _

_I actually saw Meredith, Sandy and the bitch Shelly running to a bus and my parents running to another one. They drove out of the base before the zombies could get them and out of the town. _

"_Where are we going?" My mom asked_

"_There's a safe place to live in-_

And that when I heard voices and started to wake up . . .

* * *

**Chapter One: Recovering: The healing process after the bus crash. **


	2. Recovering

**Chapter One: Recovering**

I awoke but kept my eyes shut as reality and pain started coming back to me. I felt like I was lying down on something soft and heard a beeping sound. Oh god, I was in great pain when I tried to move my arms to see if I was really alive, dead or dreaming.

"Doctor, she's waking up" I heard a woman talking

"Young lady, can you hear me" said a man

I didn't respond because I was waiting for the pain to subside a bit.

"Young lady, can you hear me" the man asked again

I started opening my eyes slowly and saw two blurry things in front of me. I closed them and opened them again to see two adults looking down at me. I found myself in a hospital bed with an air mask on my mouth and wire plugged up all over my body.

I feel so weak, exhausted, and did I mention in pain. I looked up at the man and the woman and was about to ask them something when the man spoke.

"Hey there, do you have a name" he asked

I took a deep breath into the air mask but that was a bad thing because that only brought me more pain on my side. "B-B-Bianca" I said with a dry voice.

"Well, Bianca, you're lucky girl, right now" he said

"Why is that?" I asked

"When you arrive here, you were out cold due to a large amount of blood loss" he said "you also had a few ribs broken, multiple scratch wounds and bruises, internal bleeding, a gash on your forehead, a black eye and we took a three-inch piece of glass out of your side"

"I got that black eye in a fight" I said "and I was in a bus crash"

"Oh" the man said "anyway, we thought you died when you didn't wake up when the helicopter returned but you just fell unconscious, so we brought you here."

"How long have I've been out, mister?" I asked

"Call me Sam" he said "and you've been out for three days"

"Three days, where am I, and Matt, what happened to my friend" I said forcing myself to get up but they push me back onto the bed.

"Take it easy" he said "you are too injured to move around"

"Too injured, more like stress out, you have no idea what I have been through and I'm not talking about the stupid zombies either" I said, causing my air mask to fog up.

I took a few deep breaths because my heart rate was beeping off the charts.

"Would you like some water, dear?" the women said as she was exiting the room.

I shook my head then asked again "where's my friend?"

"The young boy?" he asked "he's in the next room, he didn't suffer serious injuries like you did. He had to get a few stitches in the back of his head and has several deep cuts, a broken wrist and a few broken ribs like you do."

"Can I see him?" I asked

"He's resting but when he wakes up I'll bring him by"

I nodded and smiled (_at least he's all right_)

"But I would like to know is where did you actually came from, we find it odd finding survivors in Phoenix" he asked he sat down in a chair next to my bed.

"I use to live in Yuma and for a month, my brother, my friend and I lived in a Wal-Mart store." I said

"Wal-Mart?"

I nodded as I stared at the ceiling remembering those days "but the dead were the last of my worries, over the days a girl my age couldn't take the stress." A tear ran down my cheek "she started killing the survivors in the store and murdered my brother in cold blood."

I still remembered that day in the rain and my brother last words "are you ok" before getting his head blown off. The image still wouldn't leave my mind.

"Her last attempt to kill everyone was opening the doors and letting the dead in" I said

The man named Sam looking at me with shocked eyes as I continued "everyone died but me, my friend and my brother's friend named Marc" I said not getting into more details about him.

"We escaped in a broken down bus and drove to Phoenix thinking there might be survivors or shelter to stay at. But during the trip Marc gotten bitten and didn't tell us. Then when he died the bus crashed and my friend and I were alone in the dead city." I said

"We kept running til the copter spotted us" I finished

"You poor girl, but don't worry you're safe now" he said

"Where are we anyway?" I asked

"In whatever's left of Flagstaff" Sam said

"Flagstaff?" I asked "I'm in Flagstaff"

He nodded "Somehow the town managed to prepare itself for the zombie's invasion, less than half the town is surrounded by a high very strong fence and like any other town we contact with we made it electrical"

"And let me guess the hospital was saved as well"

"Well, how else would you treated and got a blood donor to donate blood for you to live"

"I get it" I said and, finding it hard to keep my eyes open.

Sam got up "why don't you get some more rest, you have a long way in recovering"

I weakly nodded and closed my eyes again for some more sleep and again I had that dream about my mom.

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It was another two days when I woke up again with the plugs, tubes and air mask still on me. I was alone and for once I saw how banged up I was. I removed the blanket and lifted up the ugly thing that made me wear to see a white bandage wrapped around my chest and waist that had a small blood stain. My hands were wrapped up as well from when I grabbed the glass out of my side.

I can see out of my black eye and I felt a bandage on my forehead. I tried not to breathe so hard because it hurt my chest a bit. I spotted a small remote control and grabbed it. I push the up button causing my bed to lift up a bit so I can sit up.

The room was small and dark, the only light came from the window that was next to me. I wanted to see what the town looks like but I was still too weak to move.

"Bianca?"

I turned my head to the door to see Matt, pretty badly shape Matt, slowly walking in. His face, arms and no doubt his chest was wrapped in bandages. His right arm was in a cast for his broken wrist with a supporter that hangs around his neck. But that wasn't the thing that caught my eye.

"What happened to your hair?" I asked

Matt turned his head to the left to show his bald spot with a line of stitches going across. "That noting, I found out I had broken ribs but I guess you don't worry about your injuries when you're being chased by dead people"

I smiled "Are you smiling?" he asked

"Yes, can't you tell" I asked

He shook his head "I can't tell with that mask in the way"

"Well sorry for trying to live here" I said

"How are you feeling, you kinda scare me when you didn't wake up when we arrive here?" he said as he walked up to my bed and slowly sitting down.

"I'm fine, but that Sam guy said to stay in bed for a while for my wounds to heal" I said "you're lucky you're not that seriously injured"

Matt smirked "I guess, it stinks that I lost some of my hair though"

"Well you needed a haircut anyway"

"You should look at your hair it all dried up with blood in it" he said

"You're not helping my condition Matt" I said "plus I'm not those types of girls who spends hours on hair"

"True"

"And in a month or two your hair will grow back"

He nodded "It hurts, my head been pounding for the last few days"

"Hey, can you look out the window for me please?"

He raised an eyebrow "why"

"Tell me what you see since I can't look for myself" I said

Matt shrugged, got up and walked over to the window to look. "I see the half the town surrounded by a gate and guards. A few dead people trying to get in and other survivors. The outside world is empty and dead and it a cloudy day"

"Thanks" I said

He nodded and continued looking out the window "I've never been in Flagstaff, it's too bad their Wal-Mart was destroyed"

"I'm sorry, Matt" I said

He looked at me "for what"

I took another deep breath which brought pain "for trying to kill you the other day"

"Oh that thing on the roof, its ok it wasn't like you had a choice" he said as he sat down again.

"I know, but if that helicopter came just a minute later you would've been dead and I'll be alone with that guilt"

"Don't worry about it, I told you to do it remembered" he said and I nodded

"So how the hospital" I asked

"It small and parts of the building are damage but it ok and Sam is a doctor here"

"Oh, I was just wondering" I said frowning

"Cheer up, Bianca, we're alive and partly well and when we recover we'll have a new life to start" he said

I said nothing but I felt him grabbing my hand and gave it a small tight squeeze for support and comfort

"But where to begin" I asked as we sat there thinking."By the way, you wouldn't believe this weird dream I had when I was unconscious"

"Really, what was it about"

I stared at the ceiling as I begin telling him the dream I had about my parents . . .

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**Chapter One: Two Years Later: Things can change in two years. **


	3. Two Years Later

**Author's note: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Characters so far:**

**Bianca: Still a Tomboy, 19**

**Matt: Bianca's best friend, 17**

**Kristine: Bianca's friend and team member, 19**

**Garret: Matt's friend and Bianca's team member, 16**

**Marcie: Bianca's team member and a pain in the butt, 19**

**-------------------------------------**

**Chapter Two: Two Years Later**

It was a dark and windy night as the others and I search around the dead world for supplies. Winter came and it was colder than normal for the city of Flagstaff, but that did stop me from going outside.

As I laid back in the steel cover RV like vehicle, I reflect back on the last two years of my life in the world of the dead.

It took three months for my wounds to heal, but left me with scars to remind me about those awful days. I had a large scar on the side of my stomach from the piece of glass and on my hands from pulling the glass out of my body. Matt didn't have a hard time healing, all he had to live with is the scar on the side of his head.

The two years went by quickly for me and I found myself now nineteen year old. At first I found it hard living without my parents and brother with me, but I got use to it. I'm still the same like always expect I've grew about an inch taller and wasn't as fat as I use to be. I still wear boys' clothes and nothing, but black and my hair is always a mess.

Matt is now seventeen and changed a lot in the two years. He grew very tall to the point that the top of my head only reached up to his shoulders. His hair did grow back and was stronger then he uses to be. He still dresses the same like I did and even though he was taller and maybe even stronger than me, I was still his protector.

"Bianca" I heard a voice and someone tapping on my shoulder.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up to see Matt.

"Still daydreaming like always" he said

"What is it? I asked

"It's time to go out and you're not going to believe where we are" he said

I sighed and got up to get ready to get some supplies. After Matt and I were perfectly healed, we were forced to join up with these groups that go out once and a while to get some supplies for the town. After a year of training and trying out new guns and learning how to drive cars they designed for going out into the dead world. We were place in a small group of five people and since I was the oldest I was the leader. Crap!

"You guys ready to go" I said as I walked down the small hallway of this large vehicle.

"Ready" said Kristine.

Kristine was a new friend of mine. She was my age but a month younger than me. She was a tall girl with big brown eyes and long brown hair who never gets anger even when I yell at her sometimes. What I like about her is that she is loyal and always by my side. She had a younger sister but lost her parents from the zombies but this remains a strong positive person.

"All set" Garret said

Garret was the youngest of the group, who hardly talks and seem very shy for a teen of sixteen. He was pale skinny kid like Matt use to be and never like it when we had to come out to the dead world at night. So he normally stays in the vehicle which I don't mind and like Kristine, he was very loyal to me. The poor guy lost everyone dear to him when he was rescued and never liked to talk to anyone. But when he joined my team because his skills in working with automobiles he opened up more.

"Give me a minute" Marcie said putting on some makeup

"Marcie! How many times have I told you this is no place to put on makeup" I shouted

"I have to look my best, "Lead-ER" she said as she applied on some lipstick.

I growled and snatched the lipstick away from her "Hey, that's mine! Give it back" she screamed

"Dammit Marcie, we're not out here to get you a date with a dead guy, we are out here for supplies. Now get your gun and get ready to go" I commanded

Marcie stood up, growled at me then went to the back to get the gun. Marcie was the sore thumb in my team. She was my age too but didn't like the fact that I was the leader. She was very short and only loves herself and fashion. She never talks about her family or past years of the zombie's invasion.

"Where are we, anyway?" I asked

"We're at a small Wal-Mart" Matt said "it was just a few miles outside of town"

"Cool, Garret are there any zombies out there?" I asked

Garret checked the four small T.V. screens that were connected to the four cameras on the roof of this vehicle. Garret is like the only person who knows how to use every single button in this killing machine RV like car, I don't even know what to call this thing we're in. There was the steering wheel, and buttons use to bring out the guns, TV screens, and other buttons to launch the small bombs from the top of the roof. All in all, this is one awesome vehicle to drive.

"I see a few but nothing to worry about" he said

"Ok, Garret, you stay here and contact us if there's any trouble, Kristine, you and Marcie go gather up any food you can find. Matt and I will get all the emergencies supplies"

They nodded, "we'll meet back here in thirty minutes and be careful"

My team nodded again then I took a deep breath and open the door revealing the dark, cold night and the store that were just ten feet away. I grip tight on my gun and one by one we walked out and looked around. Garret quickly closed the steal door. I shook my head about how Garret is still so scare to come out since he's been doing this for a year now. I picked up my walkie talkie and turned it on

"Garret, can you hear me" I asked

"Yes" he said through the static "I hear you, loud and clear"

"Good" I said.

"Just knock when you want to come in" he said

"All right team what's the number one rule when being outside" I asked

"To have plenty of ammo" Kristine said

"Carry an extra lipstick" Marcie said

"Never go off alone" Matt said

"No" I said then fired a bullet between them and hitting a zombie in the head. My team was stunned as they slowly turned around to see the dead zombie.

"Never drop your guard" I said "let's go"

What I found was weird that over the two years the dead started slowing down. They were decomposed beyond recognition and were very slow and weak. But when they are in numbers, it's hard to outrun them without bumping or being eaten by them.

We entered through the broken glass door of the store. By the way it looks, looters have been here before the zombie's invasion hit them. Four flashlights beamed throughout the store to see a few empty racks and shelves.

"Dammit, there's nothing in here" Marcie said "Can we just go home"

"No, let's check around, I don't want to go home empty-handed" I said

"Ok" Kristine said, walking off to the food aisle with Marcie following her while dragging her feet.

"Bianca, we've better hurry" Matt said pointing to the door. I looked back to see zombies slowly walking over from far away.

"Garret try some target practice with the vehicle's guns" I said in the walkie talkie.

"Roger that" he said

Matt and I walked around, gathering up whatever we can. Batteries, first aid kit, medicine, soap, shampoo and other junk as well. While Matt stuffed everything in two trash bags I stood and watched out for any zombies. Once in a while I could hear shots being fired by Kristine and Marcie.

"That's everything, Bainca, are we missing something" he asked

"Um . . . any money we can find in the cash register" I said

I found it funny how even after the world ended like this, we still needed money to get by. More experience Supplies Gatherer go out and find whatever banks they see and steal all the money to give to the rich snubs that live in the town. Sure we get paid but where Matt and I live, well, that's another story.

I turned the corner only to be jumped out of my skin when a zombie tried to grab me. Matt shot it in the head.

"I think I'm improving" he said

"Just grab the bags and let's go" I said

We walked down the aisle to the checkout place and grinned, twenty-five cash registers with who knows how much money there is in there.

"Bianca, you need to hurry more and more zombies are coming" Garret shouted in the walkie talkie

"We're on our way, Garret" I said

"Bianca! There too much food to carry back to the vehicle" Kristine shouted in the walkie talkie

"And the zombies are pouring out from the back doors" Marcie shouted "I told it was a bad idea to come out here tonight, it's cold and windy and scary and dead"

Matt sighed "I hate when she whines"

"Bianca, we can't hold them off any longer, Do Something!"

"Why do I have to be the leader, I never asked for this?" I said

"Well, you always get us out of bad situations" Matt said

I smiled then spoke to Garret "Garret ram the vehicle into the store"

"What!" he asked

I saw zombies popping out of the places behind us "Just do it, we need to get Kristine and Marcie."

"Are you crazy?" Matt asked

A second later the large vehicle crashed through the store causing the whole store to shake as well as making a few things to fall down. "No" I said, grabbing one of the bags of supplies and running over to the large vehicle.

"What about the money?" Matt asked

I fired my gun at a zombie behind Matt but more were slowly coming. "Let's get the others then we'll come back" I said

Garret opened the door and helped me put the supplies in. "Good thing these things are slow now" Matt said running over with a cash register.

"Matt, hurry up and get in so we can get the others and the food" I said

Matt walked into the vehicle then I did and slammed the door before we felt the zombie banging on the door.

"Bianca! Where are you" Kristine shouted

"Hang in there Kristine, we'll be there in a minute" I said "drive"

Garret floor it and made a wide turn to the food aisle, running over a few zombies. We can actually hear their bodies being squished and popped from them.

"I see them" Matt said pointing at the screen.

Kristine and Marcie were surrounded by Zombies while protecting the bags and boxes of food they found. Kristine shot any zombies that were coming close while Marcie was standing and looking like she was complaining.

There was a ladder on the side in the vehicle and I quickly climbed up and unlatched the ceiling door and pop out to yell "guys, duck!" I shouted

They duck as Garret fired hundreds of bullets with a push of a button. Blood sprayed everywhere as we all covered out ears and Marcie screamed. Soon, they were all dead and Marcie stood up and scream again.

"My clothes, my poor beautiful clothes!" she shouted "why did you do that Bainca, now my clothes are stained with blood"

I sighed as Matt and Garret exit the vehicle and help gather up the food and pack them in the vehicle. Kristine was wiping the blood off her face and was a bit shaken.

"You ok, Kristine" I asked

She smiled "a little shaken but thank you, Leader, you saved my life"

"Hello, I'm talking to you, Lead-ER, first you took away my lipstick and now you ruin my clothes. What kind a leader are you" Marcie kept shouting

"Will sorry for saving your ass" I said "now shut up and get in so we can go home" I shouted

"You should be sorry, it's your fault we had to come out here at the last minute" she shouted

"SHUT UP MARCIE!" everyone besides me yelled

She pouted and stormed back into the vehicle. Matt closed the door and Garret drove out of the store and down the street to Flagstaff. Matt sat down on the ground counting the money from the cash register while I talked to Kristine.

"So what did you find?" I asked

"Not much just a lot of can food, jugs of water, soda and cereal boxes" she said "and my favorite Spam"

"Yuck, I hate spam" I said

"But I found a whole box of it" she said wiping more blood off her face.

"What luck, there's five hundred dollars in this cash register" Matt said

I smiled but I know it wasn't going to do any good for me and him. "Make sure you hide it" I said

By the time we got home it was already dawn and we were all tired. Lucky for me, Garret loves driving which gave me a chance to take a small nap. When I woke up, we were at the gate waiting for it to open for us. When it did, we drove in and parked it with the other vehicle similar to the one we rented.

I opened the door only to be greeted by my boss of the Supplies Gatherers. He never told us his name and told us to call him Boss.

"Aw, isn't it Bianca's team, the youngest one of them all" he said

I sigh, it was true there were twelve teams in all and the five of us were the youngest. The rest of the teams were in their early twenties to mid-thirties. The reason we were force to do this because each of us survived harsh conditions before coming here.

"So, what did you bring back?" he asked

"Food and supplies as usual, Boss" I said

He nodded but didn't smile, "good work for youngsters" he said

He never shows us any respect because we were young and still consider as children. After checking in and getting paid Matt and I said our good-byes to the others then went around giving food and water to those in need.

"How much did we get paid?" Matt asked

"Hundred dollars each" I said "what about the money you got from the store"

"That was our paid check, Boss took it from me and gave us a hundred each"

"That bastard, he was supposed to pay us for risking out lives out there instead of the money we found" I said

We walked down a street that was filled with poor people selling things or putting on a performance to earn money. I couldn't help but smile on how people were working together to survive. We were very popular with the other people in the city because while the other teams give out food and water for money we give them out for free.

After giving the last four cans of food to a poor lady, I let out a big yawn.

"You wanna go home?" Matt asked

"No, I don't feel like dealing with her, right now" I said

"But we were out all night, if we sneak in she'll probably won't see us" Matt said

I frowned but nodded and we started walking home, hoping we didn't have to deal the old woman . . . Mrs. Taylor . . .

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**Chapter Two: The Hag: Bianca is force to live with a woman that can be describe as the woman from the book "Mommy Dearest."**


	4. The Hag

**Chapter Three: The Hag**

For the past two years living in Flagstaff or what's left of it I learn that there are two monsters that live here. One is my boss's vehicle he uses to go out and do whatever he wants.

That thing is twice as big, has twice as much ammo, and twice as protected than what we use to gather up supplies. It was built for long trips which means it has a very small indoor bathroom and enough small beds, food and water for six people to stay out there for days. My boss calls it the "The Monster"

For days of my training to be a leader, I dreamt of driving that thing one of these days but only the boss and his team members are allowed to drive it because he still complains that I'm still too young to come near it. Who knows, one of these days I might get a chance to drive it.

The other one is the woman Matt and I live with ever since we were well enough to walk.

We stared at fancy Days Inn Hotel where only the rich people lived while the poor lives in the streets.

"You got her cigarettes" I asked Matt.

He nodded as he took them out of his pockets "you better hide that ring of yours"

I quickly took off the engagement ring Marc gave be back then. I still kept my promise to take care of it to him. I stared at it for a second, it still was nice and shiny then place it in my shoe where the hag wouldn't find it.

"Hide the money" I said

Matt stuffed it in one of his deep pockets on his pants then we went inside. We waved to some of the people who were smoking, drinking wine while listening to some classical music. They only gave us a disgusted look then went back to what they are doing.

We got into the elevator, pushed the button for the top floor and stood there.

Matt yawn "I hope she doesn't have anything else for us to do I need to get some sleep"

The hag was called Mrs. Taylor, an old woman who was fifty years old and had a diamond shape figure and enough Botox to that will make you wanna puke.

She was very popular with the other rich snobs that live in the Days Inn hotel and loves having the spotlight on her all the time. She grew even more famous when she took us into her home and promise to take care up us since we were still "little kids." A few days later she somehow became our legal guardian

To others, she was a sweet kind old lady, but behind the doors she was like that lady from the book Mommy Dearest. It started harmlessly enough I would say, she was always smiling and gave us a room for us and buy us food and in return we clean and do some errors for her. Til one day about a year ago, when I got home after a hard day of training and going out to the dead world I collapsed onto my bed and tried to take a nap.

Mrs. Taylor walked in holding her steel made cane. I never knew why she carried a cane since I see her once and a while walking perfectly without it.

"Bianca, be a dear and clean up my room for me" she asked

"I did it before I left, Mrs. Taylor" I said trying to go to sleep

"But you didn't do it right, so can you please clean it up again"

I growled "Can I clean it after my nap I had a long day"

"No, I want you to get it done now" she said raising her voice a bit.

I pretended to have fallen asleep hoping she would go away, but instead I felt something hitting me right on my arm. The burst of pain caused me to roll off my bed then I was hit again right on my back. I choked on my screams as a sense of numbness ran through my body.

I rolled on my side and stared at the hag who was holding the cane above her ready to hit me again. Her face seems to have darkened "when I want something done, I want it done now" she said

"What the hell is wrong with you" I asked

"Don't you dare talk back at me" she shouted and swung the cane at me again, but this time I caught it.

"Those who hit me never leave without a few teeth being punched out" I warned her.

"You would do that to me after I gave you and your friend a home" she said "you would dare hit an elder"

I stared at her, still holding on to the cane, "I would"

"Lay one finger on me and I'll have you kicked out of here"

"I don't care if I have to live on the streets"

"No, I could have you kicked out of this town and back into the dead world with no weapons or car"

"You wouldn't?" I asked

"Try me, my son who is your boss will make sure of it. He never wants his mother to get hurt by teenagers" she said

I growled and let go of her cane only to be hit again by it, "Now go clean up my room" she said

I bit my lip hard as I got up and went to go clean up her room. After that event she became more insane knowing she had the power over Matt and me. Soon, we were like servants or slaves to her in her own house. Cleaning and going out of town to get her things she wanted and if we messed up or didn't obey her she hits us then threaten to get us kicked out.

She was harsher on me then Matt, which I didn't care, I didn't want him to get hit. I told the hag that I won't defend myself when she hits me as long she didn't lay a finger on Matt even if he was the one who messed up.

We tried to save up money to get a place on our own but I guess she found out and took any thing valuable away from us. (_Servants are not allowed to have valuables_) she said. But we managed to save a bit but that was for getting food since she didn't want us to eat in the hotel anymore and I made sure she didn't get my ring.

What made it worse it's like she knew what we were thinking. There were times where I thought about just living on the street or stay at the place Kristine lives, but out of nowhere she pops out yelling "if you ever think about leaving, I'll make it look like you robbed and attacked me and you'll find yourself dead"

I finally gave up and let her win. I got use to the hitting and yelling, but Matt never like what she was doing to me. I told him I was fine and it's not as bad as he thinks it was. He shook his head and sometimes didn't want to look at me because all he sees were the bruises.

"I don't want you to get hurt again" Matt yelled at me from time to time.

"I'm fine, Matt, I can take a few hits if it means for us to stay here, safe and sound"

"I meant I don't want you to protect me when I make mistakes" he said "I can take a few hits too"

"But I don't want you to get hurt, you've been through that your whole life" I said

Matt stared at me and said nothing; he hates it when I bring up his past. The regret of never helping his mother when she got hurt. I know sooner or later he's not going to listen to me and will do something to the hag that he'll regret later when we're being chased by zombies.

I shook out of my thought as we stared at the door 504 where Mrs. Taylor lives. She told us to visit her after we went off to gather up supplies plus it was the only way to get the only card key to our room.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I can actually hear her walking over to the door with that steel cane , the sound made my bruises on my arms, legs, and back to throb. She opens the door with her sunshine smile but when she noticed it was us, her face once again darkens.

"It about time you two disgusting insects came back, I thought I would have died without my smokes"

"Sorry Mrs. Taylor, we had a little problem-

"I don't want to here your lame excuses, Bianca, now get in here" she sneered

We walked in to her room that was full of smoke and cigarettes were every where. The smoke was so bad that my eyes were tearing up.

"I can't believe it takes the whole night just to go out to get a box of cigarettes" Mrs. Taylor said, snatching the box out of Matt's hand. Now you can see why Marcie was so pissed off at me earlier.

She looked at the box then threw it in my face "you stupid lame ass excuse for a girl, you got the wrong brand" she shouted in her raspy voice, tighten her grip on her cane. "I sent you out of one thing and you can't even do that!"

She started marching over to me but I stood still, I wasn't afraid, I never was. "Mrs. Taylor, It was my fault, I didn't know what brand it was, I was just grabbing things because the dead-" Matt tried to explain himself, but was interrupted.

"Stop trying to protect her, Boy, now empty your pockets and get out of here"

"I don't have anything" Matt lied

"DO IT" she shouted, raising her cane to my hip.

Matt said nothing, emptied his pockets and watch the money we earned falling to the ground. He stood there staring at it knowing all what we have done was for nothing. Mrs. Taylor looked at me with her pull-tight face "and what are you hiding, you little insect"

"Noting" I said

"Are you sure, or do I have to beat it out of you like the last time"

"I'm not lying, I have nothing" I shouted

"What did I say about shouting at your elder" she holler while spitting in my face.

"I'm sorry" I whispered

She smirked and backed away from us a little, picked up the money then smiled at us again "Don't for get my little servants, you live with me, that means you do whatever I say and if you don't you'll find yourselves out of here or worse. I own you and as long as I'm alive, it's going to be that way forever" she said "Do I make myself clear"

We nodded which made her smile even wider "Now, you, Boy, go out and get some breakfast for me and my guest that are coming over" she said

"I don't have any money" Matt said

She grabbed him by the sleeves and pulled him to the door. For an old hag she was pretty strong. "I don't give a shit, now do what I say and get me some food" she said, shoving him out of his room.

"I can't get it without-" Matt shouted but the door slammed on his face before he could finish. Now I was alone with her and whatever she can find in this room she can use for a weapon.

I learned long ago the excuse for Matt to go buy some food without money was her way to get my punishment with him interfering. I stood very still, I had no choice because her threats can happen if I'm not careful.

She paced back and forth for a minute, she always does that when she didn't have her daily packet of smokes or wine. She looked over at me once and a while and snarled "ugly excuse for a girl, don't you ever wear any girl clothes"

I rolled my eyes, when she's in a bad mood insulting me was her favorite way to release it. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to walk around know I have to take care of a ugly young lady dresses up like a boy"

"Again, I'm sorry Mrs. Taylor, I've been this way since I was eight" I said, sarcastically

"Yeah, you should be sorry" she said pacing back and forth again mumbling about those fucking cigarettes.

"Can I have my room key, Mrs. Taylor" I asked

"You want your precious room key" she smirked

I nodded which made her grin even more "Well, you have to work for it, now clean up my room and make it SPOTLESS" she said

"Yes, Mrs. Taylor"

"And when you're done with that get my warm bath ready. A young woman like me has to look her best"

"Yes, Mrs. Taylor"

"And whenever the Boy gets back, set up the table for my guest then get my clothes iron"

"Yes, Mrs. Taylor" I said walking over to the small build-in kitchen to get the cleaning equipment.

"And one more thing" she said

Before I even got the chance to turn around, she swung her cane right in to my side. I lost my voice cause she hit me right in the ribs and fell over. I wrapped my arms around my side and held back my scream of pain.

"That's what you get for not obeying one single command" she shouted "Now get up and do your chores"

She kicked my in the stomach with her pointy high heels shoes then walked off to her bedroom. I laid there for a minutes wondering what was worse, here or the outside world of the dead.

(_Curse you, you fucking bitch_) I thought.

---------------------

By the time I was finished with my chores and the hag was past out from too many drinks she had from breakfast, it was already noon and I was tired.

I stood there in the room Matt and I shared. It wasn't much like Mrs. Taylor's room, it only has two old beds, a sink, a bathroom and a small closet with very little clothes for him and me.

I sighed as I lifted up my shirt a bit to see my new bruises the hag gave me. I had four on my stomach, two on my side and countless on my arms and legs.

Matt looked at the one on my side where she hit me in the ribs. "Dose it hurt when you breathe"

"A little, but I don't think it broken" I said

Matt touched it causing me to hiss in pain "you're right, they're not broken"

I placed my shirt down and fell on to my bed "what a morning, it feels like I haven't slept in two days"

"We haven't" Matt said

I groan from what he said and the bruises "Sometimes, I wished we can just get away from this town," I said "away from this job and the fucking hag"

"And go where, we don't even know what's really out there" he said

"True, I sometimes have to tell myself to face the fact that we're stuck here til the day we die by the dead or the old woman" I said

Matt flopped down next to me and we stared at the ceiling "well, look on the bright side"

"Which is" I asked

"Tomorrow is Thursday" he said

I grinned "Yeah tomorrow is Thursday, the day for me to let out "a little" bit of my anger"

With that in my mind, I drifted off to sleep...

-----------------------------

**Chapter Four: A Boy Named Jimmy: Bianca bumps into a guy who ends up stealing the thing that means the most to her.**


	5. A Boy Name Jimmy

**Chapter Four: The Boy Name Jimmy**

It was nearly noon when I woke up the next day. I dragged myself out of my uncomfortable bed and went of to the window. It was another gloomy, cloudy, cold day and I sighed, boy, I love these days. I walked over to the bathroom, pasting the other bed where Matt was sleeping, to get dress and get ready for today.

What I like about Thursdays is that it's my day off and a chance for me to walk around the town and to steal food since I couldn't buy anything. Once in a while ,a few poor people help me or Matt out, but other times even they didn't have enough food to eat for themselves.

I brushed my short, thick hair out and put on some clothing which was a black shirt that had the band named "Slipknot" on it and black baggy torn up pants. God, I looked awful in front of the broken mirror from the bruises on my arm and the dark circles under my eyes from the lack of food, stress and the little sleep I get every week.

I left the room without even bothering waking up Matt; he needed sleep and I wanted some time alone. After being greeted in a rude way by the Snubs, I exited out of the hotel and started walking around the town.

----------------------------

"_You see anyone with valuables" A young man asked his friend._

_The other young man that looked like he was about nineteen or twenty peeked behind a building and examine the people walking around. _

"_Not really, but that's what you get with the poor people" he said _

"_Jimmy, we're looking for anyone who lives in the hotels" the other guy said "look for old people" _

"_Will you shut up, Alex, I'm looking" _

_The one named Jimmy looked around again, watching people walking around, sitting, sleeping or selling things for food or money. Yet, no one seems to have any thing worth stealing. _

"_I don't see anything to steal" Jimmy said _

"_Let's see, old people aren't the only one with valuables, those who go out for supplies might have something" _

"_How should I know who goes out for supples, beside those guys are tough, they can easily kill me if I come near them." _

"_You won't, we'll just do the trick like we normally do" Alex said_

_Jimmy rolled his eyes and continued looking, suddenly he spotted a girl, wearing nothing but black clothes, who was walking around the food stands. What caught his eyes was the thing twinkling on her middle finger. _

"_I think we found our victim" Jimmy grinned _

"_Who is it?" Alex asked, peaking around the building._

"_The girl wearing all black there's something shiny on her finger" Jimmy said "and what does girls' wear that is shiny on their fingers" _

"_Jewelry, let's just hope it isn't fake" _

"_Fake or not, it will still get us a couple of twenties" _

_-------------------------------------_

I frowned when all the foods I see was either spam or can vegetables. I can't remember the last time I ate a piece of meat or some kinda dairy product that wasn't moldy. My stomach growled again and I sighed knowing I won't have any money til later on today.

"Here you go, Miss"

I looked up to see a woman handing me a cup of Ramen noodles. "Take it" she said smiling

"I shouldn't, I don't have any money" I said

She smiled again "please, if it wasn't for you, my family would be starvingso take it as a thanks"

I took the cup and smile weakly "I'll pay you back whenever I get any money" I said

She nodded "come back with your friend and I'll give him a cup too" she said

I nodded and went on my way, the smell of food made my stomach growl so hard it started to hurt. As I picked up the fork and ready to eat someone bumped into me.

"Out of the way, girl" the boy said and pushed me before he ran off again.

I fell on my butt with the cup of noodles spilling on the floor next to me. My heart sank as I stared at the only food I might get for the whole day. (_That fucking bastard will pay for this_)

"You ok"

I looked up to see another boy who looked about my age. He was very tall, short brown hair, tanned skin with very dark brown eyes. He was wearing baggy blue jeans with a Chargers football jersey.

"Sorry about my friend Miss, he can be a bastard sometimes" he said, holding out his hand.

I grabbed it and he helped me up, "try working with a bitch who has a sick obsession with fashion" I said, brushing the dirt off of my clothes. "You wouldn't believe what I have to go through with her when we go out looking for supplies"

"Oh, so you're one of the Supply Gatherers" he asked

I nodded and he laughed "that's hard to believe, you look too young to do that"

"I'm nineteen years old and I have team members that are even younger then me"

It looked like something had hit him "You must be that girl name Bianca, a lot of people talk about you around here on how you give out food"

"I don't really care, I just do what's right and sometimes it pays off" I looked at the spilled bowl of noddles "and it sometimes doesn't"

He smiled "Well, I better get going and catch up with my friend"

"Can you tell me his name?"

"Why?" he asked

"So I can find him and beat the living shit out of him for ruining my only meal for today"

"Sorry again, I'll do that when I see him" he said, walking off and waving good bye "see ya" then ran off and disappeared into the crowd. I wondered why he was in a hurry as I looked at my shirt to see if any of the juice from the noddle bowl had spilled on me. Then I stopped and was stunned when I noticed my ring was gone.

"My ring!" I looked around the floor, literally dropping to my knees and running my fingers through the dirt to find it. "Where is it, where's my ring?"

"Unless" I said to myself. (_That guy, when he picked me up, he grabbed the hand that had my ring on it.)_

The image flashed before my eyes and I thought I felt something slipping off my finger but I ignored it. I grinded my teeth as my hands form into fists "THAT SON OF A BITCH!" I shouted causing people to stop and stare.

-------------------------------

_Jimmy laughed as he tossed the ring with his right hand "sucker" he said _

_He walked over to where his friend Alex was to show him the prize he stole. Alex said he was going to do some target practicing after shoving the girl to the ground. It took him ten minutes to get there and saw him on a small tower that was just above the electric fence and shooting zombies that dare to come close. _

_Jimmy looked at the zombies. Some of them learned not to come near the fence while others think they can just march over without getting shocked. Alex was a guard of the fence, but he said it was a boring job._

_Jimmy, on the other hand, spent his days stealing, target practicing with Alex, then sleeping in different spots of the town. The twenty-year-old didn't have a home at this place and the only thing he had to remember his family was the gold watch his father gave him for his birthday. _

_Even through hard times he'll never sell his watch for money. "So what did you steal from the girl" Alex asked. _

"_A golden ring, but I find it odd" Jimmy said as he walking up the small tower._

_Alex aimed at a zombie who was walking around and moaning then shot it in the head before putting down the gun. "What" he asked_

_Jimmy showed him the ring "It's an engagement ring. Why would she wear something like that" _

"_Maybe she is getting married" Alex said and Jimmy shrugged _

"_Well, let's go pawn it and get some food" Alex said. _

_Jimmy continued to look at the ring "maybe later, she's probably looking for me. She did look like she had a temper"_

"_Sure, I guess, besides I have an hour left of practice" _

_Jimmy nodded and rested his arms on the edge of the tower watching the dead man's head being blown off._

_-------------------------------- _

Matt nearly fell off the bed when I slammed the door behind me. After two hours of looking, I couldn't find that Asshole who stole my ring. Matt stood up and rubbed his head "what's wrong?" He yawned

"Why does everything always happen to me!" I shouted "I was just about to eat a nice meal, but no, instead I was pushed to the ground, my food spilled and I got robbed by a fuckin shithead!"

Matt just yawned again, fell back to bed and covered his head with a pillow "Bianca, it's too early"

"It's the almost three in the afternoon, Matt, now get up if you want to go the "Zombie's Games" I shouted

Matt groaned, rolled off the bed and fell to the floor. He dragged himself onto his knees and crawled over to the bathroom "Give me ten minutes" he said, entering the bathroom and closing the door. As I waited, I tried to remember what that boy looked like and how should I pay him back for stealing my ring.

After putting his black jeans and a black shirt with a band named "Him" on it. He took his time putting on his shoes "so, how did you get robbed" he asked

"I was walking around when someone bumped into me causing me to fall down. Then some other guy helped me up and when he did he took my ring and ran off. I swear he's going to pay"

"Do you even know who he is?" Matt asked

"No, but guys his age would be at the Zombie's Games this evening" I said

"Ok, just be careful if you're planning on fighting with him, you don't know if he might have back up"

"And you're saying you're not going to help me if I'm out numbered" I asked

"You know I got your back" he said

"Ok, hurry up before Mrs. Taylor sees us" I said

"We need to get some money if we want to make bets" he said

"Don't worry, the hag is still past out from those drinks not to mention the sleeping pills I snuck in, she'll be out cold til tomorrow" I grinned

After sneaking into the Hag's room and stole enough money so she wouldn't realizes some of it was gone, we rushed to the far in of the town to an old abandoned building. It was remodel for the survivors to a hang out, dance, and play horrible games to win money, food or lose it all including your lives. I was in some of those games like one where I was put in a cage with a zombie and have to kill it with nothing but my own two hands. Matt was in one game where he was food for zombies to fight over and see how long he can last til he was dead or one of the zombies was. He got messed up pretty badly, but we did win about two hundred dollars.

And of course my favorite is the one on one battle with another person to see how was the dominant one of this town. They're good ways to get respect even if you were beaten to a pulp. I was in every battle I can get in to and lost a lot and won a few but I got my respect. I love being in those games no matter how dangerous it is. Matt, on the other hand, just sits back and cheers me on with my other team members since after a few times playing a few of those "insane" games he thought being outside was safer.

"There it is Matt" I said as we looked at the building, hearing and feeling the music coming out of the building. The cheering of the crowds and older adults wobbling out of the building dead drunk.

"Kristine and Garret should be here already" Matt said

"Let's go in and remember the boy is wearing blue jeans and a Chargers jersey"

"I know" Matt said as we walked in.

Already my ear drums nearly popped from the loud volume of the music, playing songs by Usher, and it was crowed from one side of the buildings to the other. There was a dance floor, game booths like target practiced on zombies, tables to play poker or just to sit down and chat. In the back were private rooms for guys and... "ahem"...hookers. The main thing was a fighting ring that is caged up with bleachers surrounding them for people to watch others getting beaten up or use a bait for zombies' battles.

I looked over at the fighting ring to see two guys fighting with the crowd cheering them on. There was a lot of blood, swearing and punches and did I mention a lot of blood.

"Hey, I can see Marcie in the benchers gulping down popcorn" I said

"Where did she find popcorn?" Matt asked "I thought we couldn't find them anymore"

"Bitch probably saved it for herself while others ate Spam" I said, angrily then scoff "I hate spam, I hate this day"

Matt rolled his eyes "Come on, let's get something to eat, maybe that will calm you down"

"Fine, but we only have a twenty and you need to bet more than ten dollars for the games"

"Five dollars can buy us two drinks and maybe a hotdog" he said

We walked over to the food stands where I spotted Kristine and Garret. They spotted me and waved "There you guys are, what took you so long" Kristine asked

"I had a bad day and Matt wouldn't get out of bed" I said

"What happened?" Garret asked

"I was robbed. Some stupid bastard stole my ring" I said

"Oh, how sad, do you know what he looks like" Kristine asked

"Yes" I said as Matt handed me a soda "but I don't know what his name is or where he lives and I spent two hours looking for him with no damn luck"

"What was he wearing?" Garret asked

"A Chargers jersey, baggy blue jeans and he was very tall" I said, taking a drink of my soda

"Like that guy" Garret pointed to someone behind me.

I turned around and spat out my soda; it was that guy, he was at a food stand showing the guy my ring as if he was . . . selling it? I crushed my can and dropped it to the floor then stormed over to him.

"Bianca?" Kristine said

"Bianca, don't, remembered what the last person who pissed you off" Matt shouted

"So I got a black eye, and she got her teeth punched out then eaten up by the dead, big deal"

As I walked over to the boy I over heard him talking "Come on, this is a real 24kt ring, can I at least get an extra drink for it?" he asked

I tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me"

He turned his head and before he could say or respond I punched him right in the eye. He crashed into a couple of people then hit the floor. He pressed his hand on his eye and closed his other hand that had my ring in it. He looked up and his eyes widen "You stupid, mother fucking, bastard, give me back my ring NOW!" I screamed causing people to stare.

"Holy shit, it's you" he said, crawling away from me before quickly getting up and running off.

"GIVE ME BACK MY RING!" I screamed again and ran after him.

"Bianca! Wait up" Matt shouted

I ran after him and was glad it was so crowded because he couldn't run very fast. "Bastard!" I shouted as I tackled him to the ground. He holds his hand, which had my ring, away from me as I tried to reach it.

"Get off of me" he shouted

I jammed my elbow into his stomach hoping he would drop the ring."I said get off of me!" he shouted and pushed me off but not until I grabbed his watch and pulled it hard enough to break the chain. I got up and so did he and I showed him the watch "give me my ring, or I'll break the rest of this watch of yours" I said

"I'll toss this ring and you'll never find it" he said

As the crowd started forming we stared at each other in the eyes. Matt and the others were stunned, but the other people had other ideas. Next thing I knew the intercom came on "It looks like we found our new players for battle" he shouted

Next thing I knew I was shoved violently into the fighting arena by the other people while hearing Matt and my friends shouting "leave her alone." I fell to the floor then heard another large thump on the other side. I looked up only to see the cage's door was shut and lock.

"Thanks to the Supply Gatherer and the Stealer, a new game has been formed."

I sat up and saw that I was locked in the arena that was surrounded by a caged. The boy sat up as well and looked around to see the predicament he was in. Then I noticed the watch I stole was gone.

"Hey, let me out of here, I'm not fighting a girl" he shouted

"Yes you can, beat the living shit out of her" I heard Marcie laughing while spitting popcorn out of her mouth "this is the best day of my life"

"Shut up, Marcie" I shouted at her.

"If you're looking for the watch and the ring, we have it" the guy on the intercom said

Suddenly one of the doors open and my eyes widened when two people shoved a chained up zombie into the arena. The zombie was chained up by the feet and the hands. But something was different about this one.

"Bianca this one is fresh" Matt said from behind me. "Also, I placed a bet if you don't mind"

I gave him a sour looked as the intercom came on again "ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Bianca, the youngest leader of the Supply Gatherer and of course, Jimmy, who probably stole something from you from time to time" The crowd cheered and booed at us, but I kept my eye on the zombie. Yes, he was fresh and when they are, they're much stronger, much faster and much aggressive then the old ones.

"Whoever kills the zombie first wins both prizes" the guy on the intercom laughed.

Jimmy looked over at the guy and flicked him off. "You can't do this" he shouted

"Kill the zombie or fight the girl" he said

"I don't hit girls"

"This guy insane, I can't kill a fresh zombie" I said to Matt.

"Well, we can't do anything til one of you wins" Matt said "why do you think Kristine and Garret went to sit down at the bleachers."

I spotted them sitting with Marcie who was filing her nails. "That's it" I said "Matt, go up and get me Marcie's nail filer, I can use that to kill the zombie"

"Bianca, look out" Kristine shouted

I turned around as the zombie came after me, but I dodged to the left causing him to crash into the cage. Matt nearly lost his voice as he backed away.

"Just do it Matt" I shouted as I backed over to Jimmy "this is all your fault, you know that"

"My fault, I wasn't the one who attacked you out of nowhere" he said

The zombie came after us again, blood squinting out of his neck and dripping out of his mouth. I jumped away "you're the one who stole my ring" I shouted

"You broke my watch" he shouted

"Pay attention to the zombie Bianca" Garret shouted

The zombie came after me again but I dodged it again "I wouldn't have had if you didn't steal my ring" I shouted at him

Jimmy ran to the other side as the zombie chased him "you didn't have to punch me" he said

"You were selling it for a drink!" I shouted

I quickly looked up to see Matt and Marcie playing tug-a-war with the nail filer. Marcie was screaming for him to let it go. Even from this distance I can still hear that high pitch screaming and whining from her. Kristine and Garret helped Matt but Marcie still wouldn't give up without a fight. I snapped out of it when the zombie roared and came after me. I was about to get away when I slipped on some blood and collapse to the floor. The crowd gasped while others cheered.

My eyes widened when the zombie came after me again but the boy name Jimmy grabbed it by the hair to pull him back. "Get up!" he shouted. I nodded and tried to get up on my feet. The zombie quickly turned around and tackled Jimmy to the ground. They fell to the floor and Jimmy held the zombie by the neck. He was getting clawed and scratched by the dead hungry thing but he still held a tight grip.

"Bianca!" I heard Matt shouting. I looked up to see him running away from Marcie while holding on to the nail filer. Matt tossed it into the arena before being tackled by Marcie. The crowd continued to cheer as I ran over to fetch the small little weapon that has a tiny sharp point. Jimmy was still trying to get the zombie off of him but with no such luck.

"Hold on Jimmy" I said

"Like I have a choice" he said

I grabbed the nail filer hearing Marcie screaming at me to give it back. Damn her and her selfishness. The zombie was just about to bite him then I ran over there and stabbed it with the nail filer. It's funny how a small thing like that could stop it but it depends on where to stab it on the head. The zombie turned around and grabbed my shirt before tumbling over and all went silent. It stayed quiet for about a minute when someone stood up and shouted "holy shit, she killed a fresh zombie!"

Jimmy crawled away then stood up to wipe the blood off his face and arms. I stood very still as the zombie started twitch. Jimmy stepped on it's head as hard as he could, hearing the loud cracking noise then it let me go. Suddenly the crowd cheered till the intercom came on again "Well done guys but since it took ya'll forever to kill the thing, we sold your valuables to another person for a reasonable price." he said then started laughing .

"WHAT!" We both shouted

"That's fuck up, I nearly gotten killed and you sold my watch to someone else!" Jimmy shouted

I was about to say something when I heard the gate being unlocked and Matt ran it. "What happened to you" I asked noticing he was a little beat up.

"Marcie didn't want you to take away her nail filer since you already ruin her life" he said "but look at all the money we won" showing me ten twenty's dollar bills.

"My nail filer" Marcie shouted while running over to the dead zombie. She stopped from seeing the sight of blood and a flat head. "Bianca, get that thing out of its head that was my last one" she screamed.

I flinch from her screams, my head was already pounding and she didn't make it any better. I sighed since after all this my ring was still missing and I know it's going to take a long time to find the person who has it. Kristine and Garret walked it and stared at the cash as well and I thought my day and I noticed I still haven't eaten anything yet.. "Come on guys, food is on me" I said

My friends smile then we walked out of the arena but I quickly looked back and noticed Jimmy was gone. I have a feeling this isn't the last time I'll see him . . .

-----------------------------

**Chapter Five: The Fatal Mission: An error run that goes horribly wrong.**


	6. Fatal Mission

**Chapter Five: Fatal Mission **

"Please," Kristine begged

"No," I said

"Please," she begged again

"I said no, it's too dangerous" I said

"Please, she's been training for weeks and really wants to go outside" she said

"Kristine, she's too young to go out there" I said

"Garret's younger" she said

"But Garret has more experience"

Kristine literally got on to her knees "she won't be trouble, I'll look after her I promise"

"I don't know" I said

"She's been wanting to shoot those things ever since she watched our mom get eaten alive by them." She said

"Kristine, you're willing to take your sister outside just to get supplies" I asked

She nodded "She's been wanting to join the team"

"There isn't any room"

"But you were saying you wanting to kick Marcie out"

"I can't do that unless she dies""

"How about we take her out one time when she sees how dangerous it is she won't go out there again" she said "please, she's been bugging me to ask you, please"

"Ok, ok, she can come, but you have to watch her" I said

"I will, thank you, Leader" she said "I'm going to tell her right now"

I shook my head and smile as I watched Kristine running down the street to wherever she lives. I sat at an old table to clear my mind and to blow off steam after what happened yesterday. Matt went off trying to find something to eat with whatever money we had left while I sat here to think.

Suddenly a bowl of Ramen noddles appeared right in my face and I looked up, thinking it was Matt, only to find Jimmy looking away.

"It's you" I said, not in anger but surprised

Jimmy turned to looked at me, revealing his black eye and I chuckled "it's the least I can do after yesterday" he said

I took the bowl as he sat down in the other chair "if I wasn't so hungry, I would throw this in your face from stealing my ring"

He chuckled which caught me off guard "hey, you're not the only one who lost something so importantly. If I knew that it was an engagement ring I wouldn't have taken it"

"Like I would believe in that pack of lies" I said, slurping up some noodles.

"I'm not lying, I'm sure your fiancé is pretty upset"

I nearly choked on my noodles and started to cough "what makes you think I have a fiancé?"

He raised an eyebrow "you have an engagement ring"

I frowned "It's a long story and I don't tell it to complete strangers" I said

"I'm not a complete stranger, everybody in this town knows about me like they know all about you" he said

"Because I give out food, you steal" I said

"I steal to survive" he said, yet I gave him a cold look "what, you don't believe me"

"I didn't say anything, I was looking at that black eye of yours" I said

He placed his hand on his eye "you can really pack of punch for a girl your size"

"The last person who made fun of my weight was scarred after the beating I gave her"

"I'm not talking about your weight, I meant that you don't look that strong" he said

"Yeah right, I know your types, shallow and only judge people by their size" I said

"You're joking right?" he asked and I nodded

He laughed "what's so funny?" I asked

"You actually think I'm those types that like skinny-ass, happy-go-lucky girls that are blonde with names like . . . I don't know . . . Kelly"

I nearly dropped my food as I stared at him in disbelief

"Not my type, they're too dumb and cries over stupid things. They're like 'Oh my god, I broke a nail'" He pretended then laughed.

I gave him a look then continue eating my noddles "so, how did you become a Supply Gatherer" he asked

"You could say that I was forced since I am capable of surviving the outlands" I said

"Really, and why is that"

I looked in his eyes, they were so dark and brown and it looks like he really wants to know about my past. The strange mood was interrupted by the Hag's scratchy voice "BIANCA!"

Jimmy nearly jumped when I turned around to see Mrs. Taylor walking over with her steel cane. "There you are, you stupid girl, where have you been. You know you're not allow outside unless I sent you to get me something!" she screamed

"Sorry, Mrs. Taylor" I sighed

"Hey, chill out Grandma, she was just sitting here to get a bite to eat" Jimmy said

That was a bad thing to call her, the Hag never wanted to be told she was old. I saw her face turning bright red "Wait a minute, I know you, you're that boy who stole my necklace that other day!" she shouted then stormed over to him.

"Shit" I heard Jimmy whispered before taking off at full speed.

"HEY! Get back here, you poorly excuse for a human being!" she continued to shout but Jimmy was long gone.

I tried to hold back my laugher but I stopped when she slapped me across the face "shut up, you little insect, now go and fetch The Boy for an error run"

"What now" I asked while rubbing my cheek, damn she hits hard for an old lady.

"I'm having a party and need a bottle of my favorite wine"

"The one that is red and taste like strawberry" I asked and she nodded

"Now get going, the party is tonight" she said "and you better not screw up again either, maggot"

She tightens her grip on her cane and I know that was going where my ribs are so I nodded and ran off to find Matt and the others.

It was the evening when I got my team ready for another tripped out into the dead land. We would've been here earlier but Marcie didn't know what outfit to wear.

"I swear if Boss wasn't the Hag's son, I wouldn't have to go out to the dead world just for a bottle of wine" I said as I loaded up my gun.

"Well, it's not like we had anything else to do today" Matt said

Garret walked up to us holding a pair of keys "we got number six today" he said

"Can you drive it?" I asked

"Of course, they gave us number six since we're taking another person with us"

I had to agree with him as I looked around to make sure everyone was here. Garret, check, Matt, check, Marcie, who was doing her hair instead of loading up her gun, Kristine and her little sister Melissa.

Melissa was a seventeen-year-old girl who looked younger than her age. She had the same color hair and eyes as Kristine and weirdly enough all wined up to go outside. "Thanks for letting me out with you, Bianca" she said

"No problem Melissa, just make sure you stay close to your sister and don't drop your guard" I said and she nodded.

"Can't we get this over with I can't believe we're going out there for a bottle of wine" Marcie shouted "and did I mention that this is all your fault"

"So I heard Marcie" I said "now shut up and get in the vehicle"

Marcie growled and walked in followed Kristine, the eager Melissa and Garret, who was whistling while spinning the keys around on his finger "I'm driving" he said

I was about to get in when Matt tapped me on my shoulder "Biana, isn't that what's his name from yesterday"

I turned around to see Jimmy and another guy on one of the towers. Jimmy waved at me, I raised an eyebrow and slightly waved back before getting into the vehicle with Matt right behind me.

"All set, let's go Garret"

"Roger" he said and grabbed the BC radio "Bianca's team ready to leave in Number six, please open the gate"

I looked at the video camera and saw the gate opening. Garret punched the pedal and we were off into the dead world again.

------------------------

_Jimmy and Alex stared out, watching the giant vehicle disappeared out of the town. They already saw a few zombies going after them in a slow pace. _

"_So did you make up with the girl" Alex asked_

_Jimmy nodded "I just gave her another bowl of noddles you made her dropped yesterday" he said_

_Alex gave him a cold looked "It was your idea" he said _

_Alex noticed Jimmy wasn't paying attention to him, all he was doing was looking out, lost in thought. "Did you find out who has your watch?" _

_Jimmy shook his head and continued looking out. He kept thinking about that small moment when he asked Bianca about her past and when she just stared at him of a few seconds. Underneath her messy hair and boyish looks he noticed how lovely her eyes were. So big with a dark brown color. _

"_Jimmy, Hello, earth to Jimmy" Alex called out, but didn't get a respond from him. _

_--------------------------------_

Melissa opened the ceiling door and peaked out to see the land for the first time.

"Be careful Melissa, it going to be a bumpy ride"

"Wow, look at this place, it's so depressing" she said

"You'll get use to it" Matt said

"So where are we going?" Kristine asked

"Any small town near by, we have to get The Hag's wine bottle and pick up a few things as well" I said

"I saw a few stores about twenty minutes away" Garret said

"Then take us there, there might be a shop that sells wine bottles" I said

"Not to mention food, I haven't eaten all day" Kristine said

We all nodded except for Melissa who was looking out on the roof and Marcie, who was sitting in the back pouting at usual.

We stopped twenty minutes later and I looked out from the roof. Melissa got out and sat down so I can look around. We were at a small place where maybe people stop by to sleep or eat when traveling.

"I see zombies" Melissa said

I got on top of the roof for a better look and saw zombies slowly walking over to the vehicle "come on Melissa, let's get back in, some of those can actually climb up here" I said

I jumped back in with her following me. She closed the door and locked it. "How bad is it out there, Garret?" I asked

Garret turned on all the video cameras and looked at them "not that many but I know more will be coming so hurry" he said

I nodded "All right team, wine bottle and the regular supplies and We'll meet back here in half an hour"

They nodded as opened the door and walked out. Lucky for me even though it was the late evening there was still a little light out for us to see. My heart jumped when Garret closed the door behind him and everyone looked around.

"Ok, Matt and I will find the bottle, the rest of you look around for food or other supplies we need" I said "and Kristine, please look out after your sister"

She looked around to see Melissa taking off. "Melissa, wait up" she ran after her.

"Why can't I stay in the vehicle?" Marcie whined

"Marcie, don't start with me, I am not in my best moods right now." I said "now go with Kristine"

"Bitch" Marcie muttered underneath her breath and walked away in Kristine's direction

I shook my head "I wish those zombies would just eat her already" I said

"Come on, the zombies are coming" Matt said

We walked around the empty place and not really worry about the dead coming after us. Since they were badly decomposed, they were slower then ever. I lost track of my other team members only after ten minutes. I started to get worry not only Kristine has Marcie to deal with she has her sister who I believe doesn't have a clue how dangerous this place can get.

My thoughts were gone when Matt spotted something "look, there's a gas station" he said

"I don't think a gas station would sell wine bottles, Matt" I said "let's just keep looking"

I couldn't figure out where the hell we were at, all I know that we were far away from the vehicle and I haven't heard from Kristine or Garret yet.

"Dammit, we're never going to find any wine bottles" I said as I shot a zombie in the head.

"Is it me or are there more of those things here?" Matt said

A zombie grabbed my shoulder but I easily pushed him away and shot it under his neck. Blood poured out as it continued to come forward then I shot it in the head.

I looked around and saw more coming but I as spotted a beer store near by. "Matt, I think that store would have wine in it" I said

Matt shot a few more zombies but more were coming "let's get over there, quick" he said

We ran as fast as we could, running past a few of the dead things while shooting some as well.

-----------------------------

"_The Monster" was just a few miles away from where Bianca and her team were. The Hag's son "Boss" stepped out onto the roof of the giant vehicle and looked around for her or her team. _

(The little insect and The Boy seems to be getting a little rusty when it comes to obeying my simple favors_) he remembered his mother saying (_maybe you should give them a surprised attack to make sure they're in top shape

_He shrugged and stomped on the roof "release it" he ordered his team_

_Two of his team members opened the door and pushed out a fresh dead zombie. It was tied up with a gag of his mouth._

"_Poor Tom" one of his team members said _

"_Well, that's what he gets for running off alone" Boss said _

_He pulled out a long pole that had a loop rope at the end. He lower it down and wrapped around the fresh zombie's head and pull it up. _

"_Its caught now untie it, quick" Boss said _

_One of his team mates nervously walked over to the fresh zombies as it struggled to get free. He pulled out and grabbed the rope and untied it. When the zombie was free, he quickly ran back into the vehicle and shut it. Boss let it go and watch as it tried to climb up onto the roof to get him. He smirked and waited til the thing to see Bianca or one of her team mates. _

_Kristine started to regret letting her sister come out with them. She was too busy making sure Marcie was near by since Bianca wanted them to stick to together _(no matter how much of a pain in the butt she is)_ to watch for Melissa. _

_She stopped when she realizes she was alone. "Melissa? Marcie?" she called out but realize she was surrounded by zombies "crap" she said as she pointed the gun to one of the zombies. _

_----------------------------------------_

"Look at this place, I swear if my brother was still alive he would cry to see this many varieties of beer" I said

"Bianca, we have other things to worry about right now" Matt said pointing at the door.

The dead were walking to the door and there appears to be more then there was before. "And I don't think the glass door can hold them back for a few minutes.

"Find something to block the door while I look for the bottle" I said

"Block it with what" he asked

"I don't know" I said "just help me find the bottle and we'll run out in the back."

Matt nodded but took his gun and place it on the door's handles since the door open inward "that will give us some time"

I ignored him and quickly looked around to the wine bottles, The Hag likes the strong wines that tastes like strawberry. As we were looking around, the zombies started banging on the doors and the glass windows.

(_Where is it!) I _screamed in my head. .

"Bianca, what's taking you so long" Garret asked over the walkie talkie "the dead are surrounding the vehicle"

"We're sort of trap in this liquor store and I haven't heard from Kristine and the others" I said

"You want me to drive to your location"

"Yes, we would like that a lot" Matt shouted as he started getting nervous when the glass windows started cracking.

"Give me a minute" Garret said

I continued looking for the bottle but I started getting worried about why Kristine hasn't contact me yet.

--------------------------------

"_Melissa, Melissa, where are you" Kristine shouted. _

_Kristine manages to get away from the dead but lost her sister and Marcie as well. What was worst she was lost but had enough ammo to keep her safe. "Melissa!" she screamed. She couldn't believe that Melissa would just run off like that._

_She looked all over the empty place and couldn't find her anywhere. She suddenly stopped when she heard gunshots and turned around to see Melissa shooting at a zombie, enjoying it like if it was video game. _

"_Melissa!" Kristine screamed _

"_Hi sis, where were you, I went up ahead and then I turned around to see you and the short girl gone" she said "I shot nearly a dozen of those things" _

"_Melissa, we are suppose to stay together, you have no idea how dangerous this place can be when you're alone" she said _

"_I'm ok, I think you're just a bit paranoid" she said "these things are so slow you can hear them coming and even have time to shoot them" _

"_No, I'm being serious about th-"_

_A fresh zombie popped out of nowhere and bit Melissa right on the neck. She screamed at the top of her lungs as blood sprayed on her clothes and on her sister. "Melissa!" _

_-------------------------------_

Matt kicked open the door and I ran out of there holding on to the red bottle of wine. He slammed the door but I could hear the dead walking coming closer. "Here" I said, shoving the bottle to him "since you lost your gun, you have to hold it"

"What now, Garret isn't here yet and it's almost dark"

"Just keep an eye out" I said as I started shooting the dead that were walking over to us. "Come on, we need to get up onto the roof"

We heard screaming and shots being fired. "That sounded like Kristine" Matt said

"Kristine!" I shouted "she needs help"

I ran around the liquor store, shooting every zombie that crossed my path. Matt followed very close to me since all he had to protect himself was the wine bottle. I stopped when there were too many zombies to escape. I continue hearing Kristine screaming and shouting out her sister name.

"Bianca?" Matt said getting worried since the zombies were getting closer.

"Don't panic Matt, I see Garret" I said

Garret sped toward us and ran over nearly a dozen zombies. He opened the door and smiled "Sorry, it took me a while to find this place"

We ran into the vehicle and he shut the door "I'll yell at you later right now something happened to Kristine"

"No wonder she hasn't contact us yet, neither did Marcie" Garret said

"I don't care about her, we need to find Kristine" I said

I looked at the video camera and noticed some of the zombies walking over to something on the left. "Turn to the left"

Garret took a sharp turn to the left and came to a stop when we saw a large puddle of blood, Kristine's gun and a dead fresh zombie. "Kristine" I said as I opened the door and ran outside and looked around. Not even caring if there were zombies or not.

"Kristine! Kristine where are you!" I shouted.

"Bianca, over here"

I looked around and spotted her coming out of an empty building while holding on to Melissa. "Hurry up and get in"

Kristine nodded and ran as fast as she could to the vehicle. I shot any zombie that came near her til we were both in the vehicle and the door was shut tight. Now all that was left was to find Marcie.

"What happened" I asked Kristine, who was trying to calm down. Melissa was cover in blood and a hand on her neck while blood poured out through her fingers.

"A fresh zombie came out of nowhere and M-M-Melissa was bitten" Kristine started crying "it tried to attack me but I shot it and hid in that empty store with her"

Melissa was crying "I'm sorry, but I thought fresh zombies don't exist here anymore" she said "I don't want to become one"

Garret stopped the vehicle and looked at me, wondering what should we do. Matt sighed and so did I "you know what you have to do" I said to Kristine

"No, you can't make me do that. My parents are dead, and she's all I have"

"I know it's tough, but she'll attack us if we let her turn into one of those things." I said

Tears poured down her cheeks "I can't do it" she said

"I don't want to become one of them" Melissa shouted, spitting blood out of her mouth.

"You want me to do it" I asked

"No! Please" she said

I sighed and pointed my gun to Melissa's head, Kristine cried harder, "I'm sorry Melissa, forgive me" she said "I love you"

Melissa nodded as her breathing started to slow down.

"forgive me as well" I said

Matt and Garret looked away. I pulled the trigger, there was a loud bang. Kristine cried . . .

----------------------------------

**Chapter Six: The Day He Snapped: An argument turns deadly when Matt's past catches up to him.**


	7. The Day He Snapped!

**Chapter Six: The Day He Snapped**

Flashback

_It was day I turned seventeen years old and I was actually having a great day. A large vanilla cake, a couple of presents, and having some "me-time" with my CD player and walking over to my favorite store. What I found it odd was Matt didn't come over to wish me a happy birthday but I thought he was just busy._

_Anyway, I was walking over to the store, listening to Nickelback on my CD player and singing along with the song called "Never Again." I was too distracted singing that I didn't see Matt walking out of the street he lived in. _

_All of a sudden, my head phones were yanked off and I watched my CD player flying cross the street and smashing into tiny pieces. I would've been pissed off if I didn't have my iPod and the fact that it was Matt who did that. I looked at him only to see fire in his eyes._

"_Don't you ever sing that song again?" he shouted at me and stormed off._

_I stood there for a second and chased after him "what's with you" I asked_

"_Nothing, I just don't want to hear that song, I hate that song, OK" he snapped _

"_That's fine, but you didn't have to smash my CD player" I said "Is something wrong"_

"_NOTHING IS WRONG, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASKED ME THAT" He hollered "EVERY FUCKING DAY YOU ASKED ME THAT AND I'LL ALWAYS TELL YOU NOTING IS WRONG!"_

"_Sorry, you don't have to yell at me" I said _

"_Well, sorry you have to be so nosey, all I wanted to do was get out of my house before things started breaking again and be alone, but NO you had to come over here, sing that stupid damn song and get into my business!" _

_I hugged him and he shut up. _

_Flashback ends_

_---------------------------------_

I didn't know why I was thinking about the old days, but I guess it was a good way to ignore the dead body of Melissa and the terrible smell or to keep myself from beating the shit out of Marcie.

After shooting Melissa in the head, we headed on home when we spotted Marcie on top of a gas station roof, taking a nap with dozens of zombies crowding around the building. I grabbed the walkie talkie and screamed in it.

"Marcie, get your lazy ass up and get in here, NOW!" my voice shouted through intercom.

Marcie sat up, yawned and calmly walked over to the edge of the building and jumped down onto the roof. I heard a big thump on top and her banging on the door to let her in. Matt opened the roof door and she jumped right in and . . . landed on Melissa's dead body. I could hear a squishy noise followed by the sound of more blood gushing out then Kristine screaming and crying harder.

"Ew, what happened to her?" Marcie said looking at the dead body "oh well, these were my old shoes so no harm done" she said

Kristine grinded her teeth "you little bitch, get off of her!" she screamed

"No need for insults" Marcie said getting her feet out of the dead body and walked over to her spot leaving bloody footprints behind.

Kristine quickly got up to attack her but I pushed her down into the chair again "let it go, Kristine, let it go"

"Heartless bitch, she has no respect" she said crying again "she has no respect at all"

"Don't worry, once we get home we'll give her a proper burial" I lied since all the dead bodies goes into a boxes and dump far away like trash "ok"

She nodded and just stared at the dead body. I sat down in the other chair, looked over at Garret, who was driving, then over at Marcie, who was just humming a song then I looked over at Matt. He caught me staring at him and he gave me a weak smile. I smiled back and returned to my deep thought.

I remembered when I told Matt if he ever wanted to talk about that day with the Cd player incident I was there for him. But sadly, that day didn't come when zombies took over the world. I knew what was bothering him, it was the same thing that's been bothering him for almost ten years. Living in a house where his mother was always beaten would affect any child, but he kept it deep inside and made it look like nothing.

Why I was thinking about this, I don't know why, it was just something that just popped in my head. Maybe I was thinking about it since I was going through that as well with the hag.

By the time we got back to the town it was already night and the Hag said she was having her little party around night time. We stood there as we watched some of the guards carrying Melissa's dead body out of the vehicle with a white sheet covering her up.

"Where are they taking her?" Kristine shouted "I need to be with her"

I stopped her from running to them "don't worry Kristine, they're just taking her to another building to put her in a coffin" I said

"But-" she tried to speak but more tears poured down her cheeks.

"Come on, let's take you home" I said

As we were walking, I noticed that Boss and his team mates were staring and snickering at us.

-----------------------------

Marcie ran off without a word again but I didn't care, the only thing I cared about was making sure Kristine and Garret get back to their homes safely. It was pitch-black outside all except for a few fire places the poor made and the lights from the hotel. We stood there looking at the hotel as I held the bottle in my hand. "Ready" I asked and he nodded

After taking the elevator, we walked over to her room and knocked on the door. We heard her footprints storming over to the door and she swung the door open. She was bright red and breathing heavily. "Where have you two been!" she screamed "get in here, now!"

We walked in but she pushed us to walk faster then she slammed the door hard. She looked disappointed about something but it turned in to rage.

"Stupid excuse for human beings, I can't believe it took ya'll four hours to get a bottle a fucking wine!" she screamed "and only one bottle, I have a lot of quests coming and you only brought one bottle"

"You didn't tell us how many bottles to bring and we had an accident" I tried to explain

"I don't want excuses, you insect, now give me the bottle" she shouted

She snatched the bottle and looked at it "I'm not drinking this" she said simply as that.

"What!" we shouted

"I'm not drinking this" she said again

"But that's the bottle you always drink" I said

"NO, this is cherry flavor, I only drink strawberry" she said

"My teammate's sister died to get that stupid bottle you could at least drink it!" I shouted

"So I heard, like I told my son, your team was a little rusty and now I'm right when I told them to leave a fresh zombie out where you were at"

"You made them bring a fresh zombie out where we were because you think we needed more training.

The Hag smirked as she nodded then raised her hand that had the bottle in it and dropped it to the floor "oops" she said

My jaw dropped as I watch the wine spread across the floor and the pieces of glass. "She died because I had to shoot her since she was bitten, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DRINK THAT STUPID BOTTLE!" I shouted

She slapped me across the face and I nearly fell over. She was going to slap me again but Matt stopped her. "Leave her alone, hitting her is not going to get that bottle you wanted" he said

"Matt, don't stand up for me" I said

"Yeah, you heard her, Boy" Mrs. Taylor said "you know the punishment when you or her make mistakes"

"Please, I was the one who grabbed the bottle, hit me if you want" Matt said

"Don't listen to him" I said "Matt, its ok"

"I would, Boy, but I find it more enjoyable to punish the insect" she said "now you could leave or stay here and watch"

Matt said nothing and continued looking at me "I guess you're staying then, oh well, this would be a good way to teach you not to disobey me"

"I said don't hurt her" Matt said

"And what are you going to do about it, Boy, you're going to stop me, I dare you and see what happens." The Hag said "and beside she deserves it anyway"

Then something happened, it seems that Matt went blanked as I was smacked again till I hit the floor then was kicked in the stomach.

-------------------------

_Terrible memories flashed across Matt's eyes of him being inside that house. What was going on was the same way his mother nearly lost her life when he was eleven. _

_He stood in the corner of his room hearing his mother and father shouting and screaming at each other. Things started breaking and then he heard the sound of his father's hand hitting his mother's face. _

_He covered his ears to block out the sound but it seems to be getting louder and louder. Suddenly, his mother ran past his room with his father coming after her. He went to his door and saw him smacking and kicking her. _

_The past and the present were flashing back and forth since it was so familiar. "Daddy, leave her alone!" he hollered_

_His father looked at him with burning bloodshot red eyes "what was that, Boy" he asked_

"_Leave her alone" he said again_

"_I could hit you too but your mother said she'll take the punishment for not obeying me or for your mistakes" he said _

"_Hitting her is not going to buy you beer, dad" he said _

"_Well I wouldn't if she'd bought it, but she disobeyed me so she deserves to be hit"_

"_Go back to your room, dear" his mother said weakly as she tried to get off the floor. _

_Matt stared at his father which got him more annoyed "What, you don't like it when I hit her" _

_He shook his head and his father laughed "And what are you going to do about it, Boy, you're going to stop me, I dare you and see what happens."_

"_I said go back to your room" his mother said _

_He was pushed into his room by his father and the door was slammed on his face. He continues hearing him hitting her til his mother blacked out. _

_Seeing that day after day, month after month for years with the sense of regret because he couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it. He sees his friend getting beaten up was like seeing his mother. The tears in her eyes and the blood smeared from her nose and mouth. _

(No, no more!)_ He shouted_

_---------------------------------------_

"I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!" Matt shouted

He grabbed Mrs. Taylor by the shoulders and literally swung her to the left. She screamed as she crashes into the table. Her back hit the sharp corner of the table and she hit the floor. Blood stained the table's corner

I got up and wiped the blood off my nose. I froze when the Hag was trying to crawl away with blood pouring out of her back.

Matt breathes heavily as he walked over to her "you always hit her" he said and kicked the Hag in the stomach "that was your daily thing, get drunk and hit her!"

He kicked her again and again "why do you always hit her, Dad, why do you beat her every single day"

"Matt, stop it!" I said I tried to move but I clutch onto my stomach from the pain. It hurt so much I had to get down on my knees.

Matt started grabbing things around the room and threw them at Mrs. Taylor's head. "It doesn't feel good being hit with things, DOES IT!" He shouted and continued kicking her in the stomach and then the face.

I could hear her screaming but that ended when Matt kicked her right in the mouth. She started spitting out teeth and blood. I crawled over to him to make him stop. It was not that I cared for the Hag, it was that fact that he had lost it.

Blood continues dripping out of my nose and now from my mouth. "Matt, stop"

Matt continued yelling, kicking and hitting the old woman till his knuckles turned red. Blood was smeared everywhere on the floor with teeth and tears from his eyes. He stomped on her head before I grabbed his legs and cause him to trip. He fell but tried to crawl over to the Hag again but I held him back

"Let me go, he must be punished" he said

"Matt, Matt, listen to me, that's not your dad, do you hear me that is not your dad" I shouted but he wasn't listening to me.

I hugged him and he stopped. I held him tight til he had calm down as he places his face down to the floor and begins to cry for the first time in years. "I couldn't take it any more" he said

We sat up and he buried his face in my chest as I continued to hold him. I looked over at Mrs. Taylor. She wasn't moving.

She was dead and that was a bad sign for Matt and me . . .

----------------------------------------------------

**Chapter Seven: The Discovery: While trying to figure out what to do about the dead body of the Hag, Bianca found out the Hag was keeping things from her. **


	8. The Discovery

**Chapter Seven: The Discovery**

I literally dropped the broken down Matt head first to the floor when I heard the door knocking. A low thumb sound was made and Matt just laid there. The door knocked again and I started panicking.

"Shit" I said "shit, shit, shit, shit"

I looked at the Hag and she was just laying there in a pool of blood with a few pieces of teeth here and there. I walked over to her and checked her pulse and sure enough she was dead. Matt really did a number on the hag because her face was a mess to the point I couldn't recognized her. She was bleeding from the nose, mouth and on the side of her head.

The door knock again _(dammit, why did Matt have to kill her before her little party guests arrive_) I thought.

I ran over to Matt, nearly slipping on the blood on the floor and picked him off the floor. He seems so out of it and lifeless as if I was picking up a rag doll.

"Matt, this is no time to for moping, I need you to snap out of it" I said to him

He said nothing as the door knocked again then I started shaking him "Matt, you just kill the hag, her friends are here, if they see her like this we are as good as zombie's food" I said "snap out of it"

Still no respond "Matt, are you even listening to me!" I shouted

Another knocked and I've became desperate. "Forgive me" I said to him and raised my hand.

After slapping him a few times across the face, he finally snapped out of it. "Ow, what the hell did you do that for" he said

"No time, you killed the hag and her friends are here!"

Matt gave me a confused face then looked over at the hag. "I did that" he said

I nodded "yes, you just had a simple mental breakdown but I need you to hide the body, NOW" I shouted

Matt nodded, still letting the fact that he actually killed someone that wasn't a zombie sink in, and quickly got up. He took another look at the awful sight and picked up the dead body by the arms "where do you want me to put this" he asked

The door continued to knock "I don't know, just get rid of it" I said

The door knocked again, dammit why can't they just go away. "Forget it, we're not gonna have enough time to clean up this mess" I said

Matt dropped the body and looked at me "now what then"

I looked around and spotted the Hag's steel cane, she uses to beat me with, and grabbed it "ok, I'll open the door, hit the old lady on the head and think of something afterwards" I said

"Good plan" he said sarcastically

"I don't see you coming up with a better one" I said

Matt just frowned and I rushed to the door. It knocked again (_ok, open the door, hit the old lady's head, maybe tie her up so she won't talk_) I thought.

I took a deep breath, swung the door open and raised the cane to hit the old lady. I stopped nearly one inch from the head that belong to Jimmy, who ducked a little.

"Hey!" he said "is that a way to treat your guest"

He chuckled but stopped when he looked at me "what happened to you?"

He lower my arms, still holding on to the cane, and touched my lips with his fingers and pulled back. His fingers' tips had blood on them. Dammit, I forgot that I was bleeding from my nose.

"Get in here, quick!" I said.

I grabbed him by the shirt and flung him into the room and locked the door. He nearly lost his balance and dropped a bouquet of fake flowers on the floor. I raised an eyebrow about that but forgot it when Jimmy spoke again

"Why did you do that for" he asked then noticed the mess in the room, Matt lost in thought while leaning on the table and the dead body surrounded by dark thick blood. "Holy Shit! What the hell happened here!" he shouted til I covered his mouth.

"Hush, keep your voice down" I said removing my hand

"what happened here" he asked looking at the body and at Matt "and what's wrong with him"

"The hag was upset because I didn't get the right wine bottle she wanted, she started to beat me then my friend just snapped and attacked her and by the time I stopped him she was dead" I said quickly

"Slow down, slow down" he said "you're making your nose bleed even more"

I felt the warm flow running down my lips then chin til it forms into drops that fell to the floor. "You don't understand, the mother of my boss is dead and if he finds out about this, we'll be kicked out of the town with no weapons" I said

"No way, the old woman was that guy's mother" Jimmy said

"Jimmy, it's not funny" I said "I have to get rid of this body before the hag's friends finds her" I said

"And when is that" he asked

"It could be any minute now" I said

"Ok, I got an idea" he said "just go wash up and I'll take care of the body"

I raised an eyebrow "what are you planning to do"

"Just trust me, now go wash your face"

I nodded, walked over to Matt and dragged him to the bathroom with me. The Hag's bathroom was a lot more luxuries than ours was which made me even happier that Matt beat the living shit out of her. But Matt, on the other hand, had the guilty face expression on his face. He sat there on the toilet seat while I ran a wash rag under some cold water.

"Bianca, I've never killed anyone in my whole life that wasn't a zombie" he said in a dull sad tone.

I place the rag on his red puffy face to cool him down "it's ok, the stress just got to you, that's all" I said

He held onto the rag, pressing it harder in his face "you're not going to tell anyone about this are you" he asked

"Of course not, I do have to say it's about time you let out that anger" I said remembering that outburst with the CD player back then. He lower his head like he was ashamed that a boy his age actually cried. I looked in the mirror and from the nose down was covered in blood. I quickly grabbed another rag, ran it under the water from the sink and began wiping the blood away.

"Crap, I need to change my shirt" I said looking at Matt but noticed he was staring at his knuckles. They were burning red and small dots of blood were beginning to form. "You must've hit her hard"

"I didn't feel anything, it's like my mind just went blank and all I could see were pictures of my father." He said

"It's gong to be ok, it's over now" I said and he nodded. "Wait here"

I left Matt in the bathroom and went back into the small living room only to find the Hag's body gone. There was a wide solid line of blood leading to her bedroom. I walked over to the bedroom door, out of the two years I never been in her room since she wouldn't allow it and because I didn't want to see what she had in there.

"Jimmy?" I called out.

"I'm in here" I heard him inside the room.

I walked in there to see him putting the hag's body on the bed and covering her up with the blanket. "There, if your boss comes in to check on her, she'll look like she is sleeping" he said

"That's good and all, but wouldn't he get suspicious when he sees blood all over the sheets." I said

"He won't notice since the blanket is a dark color" he said

I rolled my eyes and looked around the room, that bitch had a T.V. with a DVD player and hundreds of DVD's. A bunch of empty wine bottles and a computer. That bitch had a COMPUTER!

"You ok" he asked

I nodded "yeah, I'm just shocked that she had a computer in here" I said "I could have stolen it and pawn it for money"

Matt walked in and leaned over on the door side "someone is knocking on the door again" he said

"Dammit, it's the party guest" I shouted as I ran past Matt and over to the door. I opened the door to see three old women smiling at first but faded quickly when they saw that it was me. "Hi there" I said smiling

"Where's Beth Taylor?" the oldest one asked

"Oh her, she went to bed early" I said the whispering "she had a little too much to drink a couple of hours ago"

"Are you lying to us" the smallest one said "we heard all about you and the way you mistreat Beth even after she gave you a place to live?"

"Yeah, it's a sad world, but sorry, she's sleeping, bye" I said and slammed the door on their faces.

"Let us in, you awful girl" the old women shouted while banging on the door. I locked it and leaned against it wondering what to do.

The two boys looked at me and I smirked "well, we're going to be in trouble" I said

"Well, we can buy you some time if we clean up this mess" Jimmy said and I nodded.

----------------------------------

Thirty minutes and lots of towels later.

I sat at the table, holding on to a blood soak towel while Jimmy dumped a bucket full of red water in the bathroom sink. Matt was lying down on the couch and might have fallen asleep. I tried not to let this "little" problem worry me so much, but it was because I feel like I was getting ill.

I head my head down when I felt someone sitting down next to me. I looked up to see Jimmy "here" he said handing me the fake flowers.

"Where did you find these?" I asked

"I stole them when I got here, the old man won't know who took them" he said

"Why did you bring me these, I don't really like flowers?" I asked

"Well, I thought it was a better thing to give you then a bowl of ramen noddles" he smiled

I gave him a weird look "how did you find this place?"

"I spotted you going into the hotel and after stealing the flowers, I just asked which room you lived in" he said

"Why" I asked

Before he could say anything, Matt started to moan "my head really hurt" he said as he shifted around on the couch.

"Hold that thought" I said getting up and walked to the Hag's bedroom "let me see if she has any aspirins in her drawers." I said to Matt

Jimmy followed me into the room "why did he had a breakdown" he whispered

"He just got fed up with the Hag beating me all the time" I said looking around the computer desk. I know she would have some aspirins with all the alcohol she drinks. There were a bunch of papers and newspaper articles, but I didn't care about those so I pushed them off and looked through the drawers on the desks. While I was doing that Jimmy picked up a few of the papers and looked at them.

"Hey, some of these articles are from when the dead started attacking Arizona" he said

"That's nice" I said not really caring about that.

I noticed a strange book on top of the shelf that was just above the computer and grabbed it. I opened the first page which was filled with newspaper articles "what is that" Jimmy asked

"A book" I said as I tossed it on the bed next to the dead body "it looked like the Hag had another hobby besides drinking and beating me"

Jimmy grabbed the book and looked through the photos and articles "these are more articles of the early zombie invasion" he said

"Dammit, there got to be aspirins somewhere" I shouted and continued to look around. I went over to her drawer that had a nice fancy jewelry box on top.

"Hey, look at this one" he said "a base was attack somewhere in Yuma"

I dropped a jewelry box I picked up and looked at him "let me see" I said

I snatched the book out of his hand and looked at the articles that read "Yuma Military Base attacked by the Dead, survivors left in buses to another place"

"Holy crap, I can use these jewels to pawn for some money" Jimmy said running over to the large pile.

I ignored him and continued reading "some of the buses went to other places in California, all expect for two said a survivor. One of the buses had appeared to drive over to a near by store of the base while another bus lead by a few military officers took off to some would say in Texas. We recently contact all the outposts in Texas and turned out that the other bus was in the town of Lubbock. We were able to get a photograph of the ten survivors of the bus."

I looked at the photo and my jaw dropped when I saw two people I knew very well. (_Mom...Dad?_)

I was so stunned I didn't hear Jimmy's voice that well "hey, how did my watch get here" he asked

I continued staring at the picture, the man and the woman in there looked liked my parents, but that's impossible my parents are dead or else they would have come for us when all this started happening. So many questions were flowing into my head when Jimmy showed me his watch.

"Hey, how did this old woman get my watch" he asked, but saw that I wasn't paying attention. "What's wrong?" he asked

I looked at him "my parents are alive" I said

"What?" he asked and I showed him the picture "this picture, this man and woman right here" I pointed "they looked like my parents, they might be my parents"

Jimmy looked at me stunned and didn't know what to say. I sighed and walked out of the room to show it to Matt. He was still in a daze from his breakdown "Matt, Matt, snap out of it and look at this"

Matt lifted his head and stared at the photo with his still bloodshot eyes "what is it" he said and looked at the pictured then laughed "hey, one of these people look like your mother . . . and isn't that your dad"

I waited for about a few second till he quickly shot up and grabbed the book out of my head "wait, wait, wait, wait, those are your parents but I thought . . . I thought they were dead"

"That's what I thought too but I guess I was wrong" I said

We stared at each other in disbelief and didn't know what to say. Jimmy came in with all of the Hag's jewels and placed them on the table.

"What are you doing?" I asked

"Looking to see what I can use to pawn since I don't think she'll need them any more thanks to him" he said pointing at Matt

"How can you think of money at a time like this?" I asked

"Well, I figure I might need some if I have to leave this place when that guy finds out the old woman is dead" he said

I stormed over there, ready to yell at him and tell him that his idea was stupid and suicidal if he thinks he could make outside these fences. But I stopped when I was my ring that was stolen in the small pile. How did that hag get a hold of it when she was out cold when I lost it. My guess would be that a friend of the Hag's or Boss bought it for her when I was fighting off a fresh zombie.

Either way, I think killing the hag, finding out my parents were alive and my lost ring only told me that it's time for me and Matt to leave this place.

"Jimmy, how exactly are you going to leave this place" I asked

"I don't know, maybe once I get enough money and things I'll steal one of these cars I saw at the Supply Gatherers's headquarters, open the gate and leave, why" he asked

I smirked "I got a better idea"...

--------------------------------------------

**Chapter Eight: The Plan and The Escape: Bianca, Matt and Jimmy plot a plan to escape before getting caught, which involves stealing the large metal-cover vehicle "The Monster".**


	9. The Plan and The Escape

**Chapter Eight: The Plan and The Escape**

_Kristine awoke late at night by her cell phone. The other people, who were sharing the room with her, started complaining about why her ringer tone had to be Britney Spears. She searched around for the phone with her hands since it was too dark to see. _

"_Turn that ringer off, I'm trying to sleep!" a boy shouted_

_The "Hit me baby one more time" song filled the room til finally Kristine found her cell phone and answered it. _

"_Hello?" she whispered due to her throat being sore from crying for the past hour._

"_Kristine! It's me, Bianca, I need you to go find Garret and get over here as quick as you can" Bianca shouted_

"_What! Bianca, it's two in the morning and I'm not feeling very well since my sister died just a few hours ago" _

"_I know that, but this is an emergency and I need you and Garret here NOW!" Bianca shouted _

"_Why, did something happen?" she asked_

"_I'll explain everything just get over here quick" Bianca shouted _

_Kristine groaned "all right, I'll be there in twenty minutes" she whispered then hung up the phone. _

_Kristine turned on the light causing the other people to groan "turn off that light!" one person shouted while the others covered their heads with their blankets and pillows. _

_She sighed (_this better be important_) she thought (_and thank god Garret doesn't live that far away

_----------------------------------_

Matt looked at me with his bloodshot eyes "Bianca, I don't like that smirk of yours it usually means trouble"

"Not this time, Matt" I said "the smirk means I have a plan"

"Which is?" he asked

"What Jimmy said we're going to leave this place" I said, walking back into the Hag's bedroom.

"What!" Matt shouted running after me "you can't be serious?"

"I am serious, I've never been more serious in my whole life"

"And where are we going to go? We have no money, no car, no weapons, nothing!" he said

"I'm very well of that, Matt, but I know exactly where we are going" I said looking through the drawers again because I could've sworn I saw some maps lying around.

"And where's that?" he asked

"Texas" I said smiling "Lubbock, Texas"

Matt's jaw dropped "are you crazy!" he shouted

"I don't think so" Jimmy hollered from the table. He was still looking at all the jewels the Hag had.

"Bianca, that newspaper article was from two years ago, how do we know if that outpost is still there" Matt said

"Well, we just to have go there and find out" I said "I'll take that chance because it sure sounds better then living here"

"Do I have to remind you what happened the last time we traveled out there?" he asked "Melissa died"

"I know that, it only happened a few hours ago" I said

"We almost died the first time we were out there, don't you remember the bus crash, the large piece of glass stuck in your side. You nearly died of blood loss" he shouted

"Why are you bringing up bad memories?" I asked

"Because that might happen to us again since we have nothing to protect us from the dead" he said "are you willing to give up your second chance of life to go back out there to search for a place that might not exist anymore"

"Matt!" I snapped at him so he would shut up "I know, I know what you are saying but I need you to know that even if we stay here we'll be killed since you murdered the Hag"

Matt didn't say anything. He just stared at me with those bloodshot eyes and for some reason I can sense fear in him.

"Are you scared?" I asked as I grabbed the maps

He nodded "it's not like we're going out to get some supplies, we're leaving and don't even know what's out there" he said

I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder "I know that, but it's a chance we have to take, Matt" I said "now are you with me or not"

"I'm always with you" he said and I smiled

"Ok then, I got a plan and I know it will work once Kristine and Garret get here" I said

Matt nodded again and went over to sit down on the couch again. I can tell his head was hurting badly when he covered his eyes from the lights. I went over to where Jimmy was and sat down to wait for Kristine and Garret.

"So what's your plan" he whispered

"I'll tell you when my other friends arrive" I said

"Ok, but whatever you have in mind I'm with you all the way" he said

"You don't mind leaving this place" I asked

"Nope, I have nothing to lose" he said "half the town here hates me for stealing"

"Have you ever been outside before?" I asked

"No, but it shouldn't be that hard" he said smiling at me.

I sighed and placed my head down, damn it was a long night.

----------------------

I think I fell asleep for a little bit because Jimmy tapped me on my shoulder and told me that my friends arrived. I woke up and looked up to see Kristine and a half-awake Garret staring at me with a sour look.

"Ok, we're here and this better be good to wake me up this late" Garret said then yawned

"Come into this room and I'll show you" I said

We walked into the bedroom and I walked up to the bed and lifted the sheets.

Kristine's eyes widen "OH. My. God!"

"COOL, you finally killed the old woman" Garret said to me

I laughed "I didn't kill her"

He looked at me with a stunned face but Kristine was still shocked to see the beat-up body of the old hag, whose blood was soaking into the sheets and bed. "Then who did?" He asked

Kristine shook out of her shocked "and why is that guy here" she whispered

"Look, just go sit down so I can tell you the plan" I said

They looked at each other and walked out of the bedroom and sat down next to Matt, who seem to have dozed off again. Kristine looked at Matt and tried to wake him up "ok, what is going on Bianca?" she asked

"Yeah, why is the Hag dead, why is he here and what the hell is wrong with Matt?" Garret asked

"Shut up and I'll explain everything" I shouted

My two friends shut up and Matt was waking up again and looking at me while I explain my plan.

"Yes, the Hag is dead and we're in big trouble if we don't do anything about it" I said

"And that is" Garret asked

"Simple my friend, we're leaving this place and heading to Texas" I said

Kristine and Garret shouted "WHAT!" causing Matt to groan from his pounding headache.

"You heard me" I said

"And how are we going to do that" Garret said

"I'll tell so pay close attention"

They and Jimmy leaned over ready for me to explain "okay here's the plan" I said

"We're going to gather up all the food, water, clothing, first aid kits and ammo we can carry. Then we're going to sneak over to the station to steal one of the vehicles. Then we'll escape, see no harm done"

"I think it's a little harder then that, Bianca" Garret said "there are dozens of guards out there watching those vehicles and even if we do steel one they'll just come after us in "The Monster"

"We're stealing "The Monster," it's a good way to pay them back for killing Melissa" I said

Kristine looked at me with a confused face "that's right, they'd released the fresh zombie because they thought we were getting rusty" I said causing Kristine to frown.

"Now this is how we are going to do this" I said

After I told them the plan, we had only three hours to get it done before sunrise. It took us nearly an hour to pack up all the things we needed then gathered over to the station. My backpack was full of food, water, and clothes for Matt and me. Garret carried all the guns and bullets we had plus had an empty bag to steal guns from the station.

We hid behind a small building that was across the street from the station. The first plan was gaining access into the building which was simple since I was the leader.

Garret and I buzzed into the intercom. "Who is it?" Said a deep voice.

"This is Bianca and Garret and we're here to fix up our vehicle" I said

"What's wrong with it?" he asked

"Well, there was a little accident this evening and we're just going to make sure that the blood didn't damage the thing" I said

We heard a buzzing sound and the gate opened. We walked in with the gate slamming behind us then behind the building to where all the vehicles were at. There was eleven plus the giant one "The Monster" standing there unguarded except for the cameras from the building.

"Bianca, don't we need the keys to drive it" Garret said

"You can hot wire it, right?" I asked

He nodded "but I need time to do that not to mention to do the other thing you want me to do" he said as he took out a screwdriver and a pair of scissors

"Give them a minute" I said

-------------------------------------

_The next thing to do was to distract the guards so Bianca and Garret would have enough time to hot wire the vehicle_.

"_You got the gasoline, Matty" Jimmy said_

_Matt handed him the plastic container with a sour look "It's Matt" he said _

"_You got the matches" he asked_

"_I do" Kristine pulled the matches out of her pocket. "Are you sure this is a good idea to set the station on fire?" _

"_We're not going to burn the whole building down, just enough to distract them" he said _

"_Oh" Kristine said "then we'll rush in, grab the guns and ammo and race to the vehicle" she said_

"_That's about it" Jimmy said, Unscrewing the lid. "Follow me" _

_They raced over to the side of the building where the cameras couldn't see them very well and poured the gasoline on the wall. He snatched the matches from Kristine and lit them. The three backed away quickly when the fire exploded causing it to spread so quickly on the wall._

"_I think you poured a little too much" Matt said_

_They heard alarms going off "that's our cue, come on" Jimmy said _

_They hid, waiting for some of the guards to leave the building. The fire spread upwards and onto the roof. When the door was wide open, Jimmy quickly grabbed it before it could close since it locks up when it close._

_Jimmy held the door while Matt and Kristine ran in. The hallway was thick of smoke causing Kristine's eyes to tear up and cough. There were many hallways and some of the people in the building was too busy panicking to notice they were there. _

"_Where's the ammo?" Jimmy coughed _

"_Down this hall, if we keep following it, it will lead us to the back where Bianca and Garret are" Matt coughed. God, he hated this day. _

_A guard ran toward them, coughing "hey, you kids aren't suppose to be in here" he shouted_

_Jimmy punched him in his face causing him to past out on the floor. Kristine ran past the past out body and into the room next to him. She looked inside the room that was filled with all kinds of guns and boxes of ammo. _

"_Get what you can carry" Jimmy said_

_Matt opened the empty bag and started putting all the boxes of ammo inside of it. Kristine grabbed all the guns and placed them in the bag as well. _

"_I hope Bianca and Garret are done" Kristine said_

_--------------------------------- _

As Garret was removing some wires from each giant vehicle, I watched as the building being engulfed by flames. Jimmy probably put too much gasoline on the wall. "How's it going, Garret?"

Garret crawled out from under Vehicle number 11 with wires in his mouth. "Last one" he said

I was lucky that Garret was in my team since he and a few other people knew the inside and the outside of the vehicles. What he did was he tore out the main wires of the vehicle without them it's just a giant dead weight on wheels. So when we leave Boss and his team won't come after us.

"And don't worry, they don't have any extra wires for the vehicles" Garret said wiping oil off his face.

"Good, let's go hot wire "The Monster" I said

"I can drive it, right" he asked

"Not this time, I'm driving that bad boy first" I said

Garret frowned but nodded as we walked over to "The Monster." If I knew Boss like I did, then I know he never locks the door. I slid the door open and smiled as I walked inside.

"Wow" Garret said looking around the inside of it "this thing is huge, it even has beds for us to sleep in and a small bathroom"

"Machine guns, a fridge, and more video cameras to see the outside"

Garret walked over to the steering wheel and nearly drooled from the amazing sight "they have seat cushions and a cup holder" he said "Bianca, you must let me drive first"

"When we get to New Mexico then I'll let you drive" I said

Some of the windows shattered by the fire and there was still no sign of Matt, Kristine or Jimmy "Come on guys" I said "Garret, start hot wiring the car"

Garret nodded and went under the steering wheel to search for the wires. Five more minutes went by when I was Jimmy running out while holding on to Kristine and Matt dragging the bag behind them.

"Hey" I shouted and waved, hoping they would see me through the window.

They ran as fast as they could and I could see why when a few guards came out of the building with their shot guns. They stopped and started couching due to the smoke so it gave my friends enough time to run over.

The vehicle started up and let out a loud purring noise "I got it" Garret shouted

Jimmy ran in smelly like smoke while Kristine fell down on her knees and started to cough up black saliva. Matt shoved the bag to Jimmy then walked in coughing as well.

"Quick, they're onto us" Matt coughed.

Garret slammed the door and locked it and I sat down in the driver's seat.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked

Kristine continued to cough "Bianca, if we destroy the gate . . . (_cough_) . . . the dead . . . (_cough_) . . . will come in" she said

"Take it easy Kristine, there's a few water bottles in the bags" I said

I put the vehicle in drive and turned the giant thing around and headed toward the gate. I stopped and wondered if I should just run through it or not. Kristine was right though, if I knocked down the gate the dead will come in. I can already see some coming over thanks to the light of the fire.

It was hard to think with the three coughing and the sound to bullets hitting the steel-covered vehicle.

Jimmy came up to the window and waved at something. "What are you waving at?" I asked

"My friend Alex, he works as a guard for the gate"

"And?" I asked

"I asked him a favor before meeting up here" he smiled

I looked out of the window and at the tower to see his friend. The bastard who took my ring in the first place waved back and pressed a button that cause the gate to open then he ran off before he could get caught. The gate slowly swung open and jammed my foot down on the pedal causing "The Monster" to drive through the gate and out into the dead world.

The force caused my friends to fall or to grip onto something "take it easy, Bianca" Matt said

I grinned (_so this is what it feels like to drive this thing_)

I looked at the camera that showed the back of the vehicle and saw the guards trying to hold back the zombies while closing the gate.

Matt sat down in the passenger's seat and weakly smiled at me. He was covered in black smoke dust and was a mess. Garret helped Kristine walked over to one of the little beds.

"Kristine, are you going to be all right" I shouted

She turned around and nodded "I'll be fine, I just need to rest"

"We don't you get some rest too, Matt" I said "you need it"

"But who's going to help you with the maps" he asked

"Jimmy and Garret will help out so get some rest"

He nodded and walked back where Kristine was at. Those two had the hardest day than the rest of us. Jimmy sat down in the passenger's seat with a bottle of water.

"Your friend didn't mind you leaving" I asked

"Nah, he thought it was cool since everybody in the town knows that I steal from them" he said

I rolled my eyes and smiled (_look out Texas, here we come_) . . .

-----------------------------------------

**Chapter Nine: Marcie's revenge: Marcie is given a job to do. To go out, find "The Monster" and bring it back. But Marcie had other plans.**


	10. Marcie's Revenge

**Chapter Nine: Marcie's Revenge**

_She wipes her nose on her sleeve then looked at the blood. It was still bleeding badly even after it's been an hour since the beating. Marcie growled when she remembered what happen this morning. _

Flashback

_She was dragged out of bed by two people and was taken to the Days Inn Hotel. The next thing she knew she was tossed into a bedroom to see her boss looking at the bed. When she got on to her feet, her eyes widened when she was the dead body of the old woman. _

"_Where is she?" Boss said in a cold voice_

"_Who?" Marcie asked. "All you did was drag me out of my bed and brought me here" _

"_Don't be smart with me" He said. "I'm already in a bad mood because the other guy wouldn't talk either" _

"_What other guy" she asked_

_She heard a low thump in the living room and went to see what it was. There was a young man on the ground with two older men standing next to him. The young man was badly beaten and was coughing up blood. _

"_You're going to be that way if you don't talk" Boss said. Marcie could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck and she started to shiver. _

"_I have no idea what you are talking about" she said _

"_Where is she, your leader?" He shouted_

"_The bitch . . . I mean Bianca" she asked_

"_Who else would kill my mother, nearly burned down the Supplies Station and stole my vehicle!" _

"_She did" Marcie asked_

"_Yes, she did, now tell me where is she going" he shouted "I know you're involved, so talk" _

_Marcie pushed him away from her "please, you don't have to spit all over me"_ _she said "I don't have a clue what's going on or what happened to Bianca; she never tells me anything. I bet Kristine or Garret knows where she went." _

"_You're right, they don't tell you anything because those two, the town's stealer and Bianca's little sidekick left with her too" _

"_Wow, you guys must have been lazy or asleep if she was able to get past the gate" she laughed. _

_Her laugher ended when Boss smacked her across the face so hard she fell to the floor next to the boy. Her cheek felt like it was on fire then it went completely numb. Boss placed his foot on her head and slightly pressed down on it. _

"_Now Alex, I know this Jimmy person is your good friend and I bet he trusts you not to tell anyone where he was going, right?" Boss asked_

_Alex spat out blood and nodded "I tried to tell him it was dangerous, but his mind was foggy over that weird girl" _

_Boss pressed down harder on Marcie's head causing her to whin, but it was muffle by the carpet. "I don't need your story I need you to tell me where are they going before I crush her skull" _

"_For the love of god, just tell him" Marcie shouted_

"_Ok, ok, I'll talk but you have to let us go" Alex requested _

"_Talk!" Boss said _

"_Ok, Jimmy told me that the girl found out her parents were alive and they're heading toward the outpost in Texas" He said "that's all I know" _

_Boss lifted his foot off of Marcie's head, and she got up off the floor. "Thank you Alex, but you're no longer needed" _

_Alex nodded and tried to get up when one of the men took out a gun and shot Alex in the back of his head. Blood splattered all over Marcie's clothes and carpet. _

_Marcie stood there in horror as she wiped the blood off her face then looked down at her clothes "my clothes" she whispered. "You ruined my clothes, you ugly bastard!"_

_She froze when she heard Boss cracking his knuckles behind her. As soon as she turned around, a fist flew into her face._

_End of Flashback_

_Marcie wiped her nose again to see her nose bleed have finally stopped. She weakly smiled and sat there in the jeep freezing to death from the cold. _

(I will spare your life you go out there and bring back my vehicle and Bianca, alive. I want her alive so she would suffer for what she did before I kill her

_Marcie smirked "if anyone is going to kill her it's going to be me" _

_She looked in the rear view mirror of the jeep; her face was puffy and bruised from the beating. That was the longest, most painful minutes of her life and no doubt scars will form. She jumped when the door open and a body bag was pushed in. She knew it was the boy name Alex that was in the bag. The two front doors opened and two people got in. _

_Boss knew he couldn't trust Marcie going out there alone due to the reports Bianca wrote about her. The guy in the driver seat was Jacob, a twenty-two-year-old, who was a friend of Boss. The other one was a girl name Lindsey, who was Marcie's age, and was Jacob's cousin. _

"_Are you sure this jeep will keep us safe?" Marcie asked. Evening talking was painful._

"_It's not going to take us long to find the girl" Lindsey said _

"_But she has "The Monster," she could easily shoot us just like that" Marcie said snapping her fingers. _

"_What the girl doesn't know is that Boss made a remote that controls the guns on the vehicle" Jacob said, showing the remote in his hand. "Now stop asking us questions and shut up" _

"_Yes sir" Marcie said._

_Jacob drove the jeep to the gate and headed out into the outside land. Marcie wished she could move far away from the window, but she couldn't with the dead body on her lap. The smell of blood made her sick and she could feel it running down the plastic bad on her leg. _

_It was late morning. _

_-------------------------------------_

I woke by some banging noise and lifted my head off the steering wheel to see a zombie, hitting and clawing the window. I nearly jumped out of my seat, but sighed in relief that the windows were shatterproof. I yawned and rubbed my eyes to fully wake up then looked over at the passenger seat to see Jimmy sleeping against the window with drool running down his chin. I looked in the back to see Garret sleeping on the floor with the map covering up his face. Matt and Kristine were in the back sleeping in their beds.

I looked at the video cameras, and saw that we were surrounded by dozens of zombies trying to find a way inside the vehicle. The thing was too heavy for them to tip us over. I yawned again and checked to the clock to see what time it was. It was high noon and my head was pounding from all the events that happened last night. And the banging noises from the zombies weren't helping either.

We stopped somewhere in Winslow Arizona to sleep and to find some supplies the next morning. I walked over Garret and up the ladder to the ceiling door to get some air in this thing. I climbed out and stood on the roof for a moment. The dead was clawing the vehicle, trying to get up here, but the thing was too tall from them so it was safe.

The town was empty and cold, but I know there must be a place that was safe enough to get some other supplies or a place to wash up a bit. My black clothes smelled like smoke, oil and blood.

"Morning"

I looked down to see Matt climbing up the ladder and onto the roof. "Morning Matt, feeling better?" I asked.

"About what?" He asked

"About all that happened last night with the total breakdown and killing The Hag" I said

Matt stared at me "what's a matter?" I asked.

"I look at you and all I see are the bruises the bitch gave you every day for the last two years. I look back at last night and I knew I did the right thing" He said

"I thought I was the only one doing the protecting around here" I said to him.

"You may be older than me, but I'm a hell a lot taller then you are so I should be protecting you" He said

I gave him a hug "I love you, Matt" I said as a brother/sister way

"I love you too, but I hope no one is watching" he said

"Shut up" I said

I stayed in his warm embrace ingoring the smell of smoke and blood on his clothes as he gently swings me back and forth.

---------------------------------------------

_Jimmy over heard the two talking and sigh in disappointment. He always thought Bianca and her friend Matt were best friends, but he guesses he was wrong when he heard Bianca saying "I love you" to him. _

And I'm not normally the jealous types_) he thought._

_He gets out of his seat, stared at the goy named Garret sleeping on the floor, walked over him and over to one of the beds. There were three beds on each side of the vehicle that hang just above one another with little space to move around or to sit down on. He saw the girl name Kristine yawning and opening her eyes. _

"_Good morning, Jimmy" she said "I'm Kristine, in case you forgot"_

"_I didn't, it's nice to meet you" he said in a low voice. _

"_Is something wrong?" She asked_

"_What makes you say that?" He asked_

"_Can you guys shut up, I'm trying to sleep" Garret said underneath the map._

_Kristine shook her head then looked at Jimmy again "I know if there's something wrong, it's plastered all over you face" _

_Jimmy gave her a sour look, not knowing if he should talk to a girl that he only known for a day, but what the hell. "How close are Bianca and Matt?" _

"_They're really close, they've been friends since they were eight and ten years old. Bianca loves him like a brother since he was all she has left since her real brother died" Kristine said _

"_She had a brother" He asked_

_She nodded. "She never likes to talk about it or about her past before she and Matt came here. Matt's the only one she truly cares about and will do anything to make sure he's safe." _

"_Hmm, where did she get that engagement ring" he asked_

"_Beats me, she has more things to worry about then telling us about her past._ _Why are you so interest in knowing about her past or her relationship with Matt?" She asked_

_Jimmy looked away "no reason" _

_Kristine smiled "Oh see, well then, I'll tell you this Matt's the only boy in her life, I doubt she has room in her heart for another" _

"_You can't help, but try" Jimmy said. Yet he finding it hard to believe she loves him like a brother. _

"_I said shut up, I only got a few hours of sleep here" Garret said _

"_Hey" _

_He looked up at the open ceiling door and saw Bianca staring down "Are you guys awake yet?" she asked_

"_I am, but Garret still wants to sleep" Kristine said _

"_Well, when he does wakes up, we're going into town to find some more supplies and a place to freshen up in a few minutes" Bianca said _

_Kristine nodded and looked at Jimmy again "She makes a good leader" _

"_You don't regret leaving the town" Jimmy asked_

"_No, with my sister dead, I have nothing to lose" she said _

_Jimmy didn't regret leaving either, but was the reason he came along was already taken._

_---------------------------_

_A few miles away._

_Jacob and Lindsey waited in the Jeep while Marcie went outside to throw up. Driving all night with a dead body on her lap the smell wasn't the best scent in the world. Her whole body ached from the bruises and the abuse Boss gave her before she left. That with the smell mixed in, she didn't feel very well. _

_Marcie fell to her knees and threw up a second time and grew very pale. The vomit was red from the blood (_dammit, that bastard gave me internal bleeding_) she thought. _

"_Marcie! Will you hurry up, we're almost at Winslow" Lindsey shouted_

"_Shut up!" Marcie said. She wiped her mouth and stood up only to scream when a zombie came out of nowhere and tried to bite her._

"_Ew, ew, ew, zombie germs" she shouted_

_She screamed again when the zombie was shot in the head. Blood splattered all over her face and Marcie just froze. She heard footsteps coming up to her then the next thing she knew she was hit in the head by Jacob's gun. She fell to her knees and felt something warm running down her head. _

"_Stupid bitch, get back into the jeep now" Jacob shouted_

"_You're lucky Boss wants you alive or we would have let you become zombie food" Lindsey said forcing Marcie up on her feet. Marcie tripped on her own two feet and crashed into Jacob "Get off of me." He pushed her away_

_Marcie walked back to the jeep with the other two walking behind her. She smirked and squeezed the remote she pickpocketed from Jacob, the remote that controls "The Monster" weapons. She got back into the Jeep and looked out the window to see where they were. She spotted a sign that said Winslow on it and deep tire tracks in the dirt next to the street. She grinned. _

_-----------------------------------_

Once everyone woke up, we drove into the center of the town and looked around.

"Look at this place" Kristine said "it's so empty"

_Empty...empty . . . empty. _

"Wow, echos" Garret said "ECHO"

_ECHO . . . echo . . . echo._

"MY NAME IS GARRET!"

"Garret shut up!" I said

"What I'm just having some fun"

I rolled my eyes "Anyway, I don't see that many zombies around here so I have two options"

My friends looked at me, waiting for the instructions. "Ok, we can either go out and look for some supplies or find a place that is safe to wash up and eat whatever food we brought."

Garret looked at his oil stained close "I could use a wash" he said

"I'm hungry" Kristine said

"I don't really care, but where would there be a safe place" Jimmy said

"A hotel, gas station or a house" Matt said. "One can wash up while the others watch out for zombies"

"I guess" Jimmy said

"And I see a gas station over there, it should have bathrooms" Kristine said

"Let's go then" I said

"I'm driving" Garret shouted and jumped into the vehicle. He didn't give us a chance to get in when he sped off to the gas station. I fell on my knees as well as the others "Garret!"

After we blocked the entrance to the Gas Station with "The Monster" so the zombies couldn't get in. We took turns using the one working bathroom to wash up while the others ate lunch. Moldy sandwiches with stale chips and thick soda were the stuff we brought and the food in the Gas Station wasn't that good either.

After it was my turn, I went up on top of the roof of the vehicle then climbed onto the roof of the gas station to look around again. I could hear Kristine banging on the bathroom and yelling at Garret to hurry up since he's been in there for twenty minutes already. Matt came up a few minutes later to do some target practice as I watched the head of the dead being blown off.

Jimmy came up with the map in his mouth and sat down next to me. "Ok, I mapped out the routes that will take us to Texas"

"And . . . " I asked

"Well, by the way we've been traveling, we'll be there in about a week" He said

I shrugged "Well, I'm not much in a hurry since we got the hard part out of the way"

"True" Jimmy said then looked at Matt "what's he doing?"

"Target practicing" I said "You want to try"

"No, I'm not much of a shooter" He said

"Can you at least shoot them in the head?" I asked

"Sometimes" He said "why"

"I'm just saying, no one is that dumb enough to come out here without that much shooting skills"

"Well, once we get to Texas then I'll start sharping up my skills" He said

"That's if we get to Texas if Garret would hurry up" I yelled.

I leaned over to see Garret popping out of the Vehicle's ceiling door, washed up and wearing clean clothes. "Hey, do you know how hard it is to get oil stains out" he said

"Great he's done, can we get going now" Matt asked

"Yeah, we'll drive til we're out of town and rest for the day, how does that sound" I asked

"Sure" Jimmy said

"Why not" Matt said

"Can I drive again?" Garret asked

"Yes Garret, you can drive just find Kristine and tell her to get back into the vehicle" I said

Garret nodded and jumped back inside the vehicle. I scoot over to the edge and jump down on the vehicle's roof with Jimmy and Matt following.

"These things are trying to crawl up here" Jimmy said looking at the zombies.

"Don't worry, we're too high up for them to get us" I said

I laid in my bed to think about what to do when we arrived in Texas. How would my parents act when they see their only daughter alive and well? Should I tell them about my days in Wal-Mart, How I nearly died a dozen of times by a crazy girl, a bus crash, a bitchy slut, my brother's driving over to the store, and oh yeah, the zombies too. How can I tell them that their son, my brother, was murdered and it wasn't by the dead. Or the fact that I have been abused by some old woman and her son for two years.

The questions and the soft rocking of the moving vehicle made my eyes heavy til I eventually fell asleep for a few minutes.

------------------------------------

I woke up later on by Kristine "Bianca, wake up, you're not going to believe who's outside"

"What, What are you talking about?" I asked

"Just come look at the camera" she said tugging on my arm.

"All right, all right, I'm getting up"

I walk over to the front, which was crowed by the boys, and pushed them aside to see what they were looking at. My eyes widened when I saw Marcie in the T.V. screen, right in front of the vehicle.

I grabbed the intercom and turned it on "Marcie! What the fuck are you doing out here" I shouted

Marcie gave me a look and ran over to the door and started to bang on it.

"Should we let her in" Matt asked

"Can we just kill her?" Kristine said

I rolled my eyes and went over to the door "I like to know why and how she found us out here" I said, opening the door.

Marcie ran in and I quickly closed the door. She stood there trying to warm herself up while the others stared at her.

"Holy cow, what happened to your face?" Garret said

Marcie face was badly bruised and swollen from the right cheek down to her lips. "That's none of your business" she snapped

"What are you doing here?" I asked

"What else, to escape from the town" she said

"But you always complaining about being out here, how did you find us" I asked

"I'll tell you, Lead-er, but I want to talk to you alone" she said

I looked over to Matt, who was shaking his head, but I was thinking what harm could there be. Beside, there's five of us and only one of her. "Ok, let's talk on the roof"

"Perfect" Marcie said

"Bianca" Matt called to me in a worry tone.

"Don't worry Matt, I'll be fine"

"Yeah, Matt don't worry" Marcie said

I walked up the small ladder and unlocked the ceiling door and climbed out with Marcie following me.

----------------------------------------------

_Jacob watched from up a tree and grinned when he saw the two girls walking out onto the roof. It was all going according to plan and a great spot to kill the girls. When they arrived into town and spotted them near the gas station, they drove a head to the only place they had to go to leave the state and waited. Lindsey made Marcie jump in front of the vehicle and sure enough it stopped when they saw her. The spot had plenty of trees around from him and Lindsey to hide and waited from Marcie to signal them to shoot. _

"_Just one shot to the head and we'll be paid" Lindsey said _

"_Yeah, but only one, I was hoping for two shots in two different heads" _

"_Fine, but I'm shooting the tomboy" Lindsey said_

"_Ok, just wait for the signal, I don't think even the bitch could mess this up." Jacob said _

_----------------------------_

Marcie walked around in a circle as I stood there wondering if she was going to say something or not. "You know, Boss is pretty pissed off from what you did" she said

"I don't give a damn how Boss feels about it" I said

"Yeah, I know, but man, I didn't know you had it in you to kill an elder and set the Supply Station on fire" Marcie said

"There's more to the story than that Marcie" I said

"Yeah, but it didn't matter to Boss, all that matter to him was letting out the anger" She said "Can you guess who was his punching bag"

"Oh, suck it up Marcie, it was only a beating, I went through it everyday" I said

"Easy for you to say, I care about my looks, now I got cuts that will leave scars on my face and you're telling me not to care" She said, raising her voice.

"Yeah, pretty much" I said

"You Bitch and to think I was going to tell you that Boss sent me out here to bring you and his vehicle back to the town" She said

I chuckled "Marcie, did he actually think YOU could convince me to go back and no doubt, to accept my punishment which will be death so he could get his vehicle back"

"Yeah, I was sent out here with two of his guys to come and get you. They're out there hiding and waiting for the right time to shoot you if you don't follow Boss's orders" She said

I looked around the area wondering where could the two guys Marcie told me about would hide. "I hope you're joking" I said

She shook her head "But I'm not going to follow his orders either" she said "He may have given me the beating of a lifetime, but it wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault that I had to go out into the dead world to get supplies for an old hag, it wasn't his fault that my clothes were always ruined by blood or that my life is in deep shit"

"Wait, don't tell me you're blaming all this on me because that's ridiculous" I shouted.

"I don't think so" she said grinning "But since you're leaving, I'm going to take the team and the vehicle and go wherever I want to go"

"Leave? What makes you think I'm going to leave because you said so?"

I heard something click and the next thing I knew Marcie pulled out a switchblade. She screamed and swung the knife toward me with all her might. If happen so quickly, I didn't have time to react when the knife slashed across the soft flesh of my stomach. I felt a sharp pain, followed by the warm flow of thick blood pouring out of my stomach. She swung the knife again, but I turned and the knife cut my left arm. The pain causes me to lose my focus and I slipped of the edge and fell to the ground hard on my back.

My whole body went completely numb and it felt like I couldn't breathe. I looked up with my wide eyes to see Marcie looking down at me. "You're right Bianca because I said so"

I tasted blood in my mouth . . .

----------------------------------------

**Chapter Ten: Lost: Marcie took over by force, leaving Bianca alone in the dark with no weapon, and barely alive.**


	11. Lost

**Chapter Ten: Lost**

_Lindsey's jaw dropped "Did she just do what I think she just did" _

"_If you mean stabbing the other girl twice and letting her fall off the roof, then yes she did that" Jacob said _

"_Dammit, thanks to Marcie, we're not going to get paid" Lindsey said _

_Suddenly they were blinded by a flash of light and heard the sound of the vehicle moving. When they were able to focus again, they saw the Vehicle's deadly guns pointy at them and Marcie staring at them._

"_If you don't want your body being hit by several rounds of bullets, I suggest you drop your weapons and get inside the vehicle?" Marcie shouted_

_Jacob scrambled though his pockets to make sure Marcie didn't have the remote, but turned up nothing "She has the remote, She has the fucken REMOTE!" _

"_You idiot, how did she get her hands on it" _

"_How the hell should I know!" He shouted_

_Shots were fired at the tree they were in, but only to get their attention "I said DROP YOUR WEAPONS, AND GET INSIDE THE VEHICLE!" _

_Lindsey bit her lip and dropped her gun to the floor. "What are you doing?" Jacob asked_

"_I don't wanna die out here" Lindsey said then jumped down and walked over to the vehicle. She heard moans of the dead echoing from the town. They were coming and she doesn't want to be out here._

"_Crazy bitch" Jacob muttered to himself, threw his gun away then followed Lindsey to the door. _

_Marcie laughed, knowing she was now in control and looked down at Bianca. She could hear her struggling to stay alive from the stab wounds she inflicted on her. She tightens her grip on the bloody switchblade and walked over to the edge when Jacob and Lindsey were at. _

"_What's with the sour faces, was it because when you realize I'm not as dumb as you take me for?" Marcie said "I'm kinda glad you hit me in the back of the head since it gave me the chance to get the thing you need." _

_She waved the remote in front of them then pressed the button that opened the door automatically. _

_The two stared at the confused four that were inside the vehicle. "Who are you?" Jimmy asked_

_Marcie climbed down, grabbed one of the guns from the ground and jabbed it into Jacob's back. "Get in, NOW" _

_Lindsey was pushed in followed by Jacob then Marcie came in and slammed the door. Kristine, Garret backed away a bit, but Jimmy and Matt stood there ground. _

"_What's going on here, Where's Bianca" Matt shouted. _

_Marcie smiled, and hit Lindsey in the back on her head with the gun. Lindsey fell to the floor and was out cold. "Doesn't feel nice, does it?" Marcie asked_

_She kicked the past out Lindsey in the ribs then pointed the gun at the others "Garret, you can drive this thing, so drive us to Texas" Marcie said. "Now" _

"_Where is Bianca!" Matt said _

_Marcie grinned "Bianca will no longer be here with us" Marcie raised her arm; showing the fresh bloodstained switchblade. "I'm in charge now" _

_Matt grew very pale as he stared at the knife with the blood dripping off of it. "Yup, she was taking too long to die by the dead so I did it myself" Marcie laughed _

"_You evil, ugly-looking Bitch" Matt shouted and charged toward her. _

_Jimmy and Kristine held him back when Marcie pointed the gun at Matt's head. "Matt Don't, you're just going to get yourself killed" Kristine shouted_

"_SHE KILLED HER!" Matt shouted "SHE KILLED HER" _

"_MATT" Kristine shouted_

"_Why bothered pulling him back, I'm just going to kill him anyway" Marcie said, placing the gun on Matt's forehead. "ItS less weight on the machine anyway" _

_Jimmy took a few steps back to get to the bag that had all the guns in it, but Marcie caught him "oh no, take another step and with one press of this button on the remote and the whole vehicle was self-destruct and we'll all be goners" _

"_There is no such button" Garret said _

"_Yes, there is, but it only on Boss's vehicle in case he had to take drastic measure" She said "So all of you back off or sit down because blood is about to be sprayed" _

_Matt stood perfectly still while Kristine, Jimmy, Garret and Jacob backed away a bit. Marcie stared at Matt straight in the eyes "the thing I hate more than that little bitch is you, her little sidekick, but I'm sure you'll see her in hell" _

_Marcie was about to pull the trigger when Garret took a step forward "If you shoot him then you can forget about me driving you to Texas" _

_Marcie pointed the gun to Garret "What! I said drive or else I'll kill you instead of Matt here" _

"_If you kill me it's your loss because if you remembered Bianca and I are the only one who knows how to drive these things" he said _

"_No way, Kristine you know how to drive this right" Marcie said _

"_No, Bianca and Garret are the only one who knows how to drive this" she said _

_Marcie sighed angrily and shot Jacob in the head. Kristine screamed and Garret stood there horrified with fresh blood drops running down his face "I AM NOT JOKING AROUND GARRET, DRIVE THIS DAMN THING OR GOD HELPS ME, I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER TIL YOU ARE BEGGING ME TO KILL YOU!" _

_Garret stared at the dead body, blood was seeping out of Jacob's head and spreading all over the ground. He was so numb from what just happened he was speechless to say anything. Marcie grew even angrier and elbow Matt in his stomach. Matt fell to his knees and Marcie wrapped her arm around his neck and pointed the gun to his head "DRIVE!" _

_Garret snapped out of his thoughts and didn't want to another person to be killed by this insane girl. He ran to the driver's seat and started up the vehicle. _

"_Garret don't, Bianca is still out there" Matt said _

"_Bianca is dead, I killed her with my own two hands, the poor fool didn't see it coming" _

_While this was going on, Jimmy was taking a few steps over to the bag again. He thought if he could get one of the guns and shoot her in the head it will all be over. But with his horrible aim, he didn't want to take the risk and cost Bianca to lose the person she cares about the most._

_Marcie turned around, still holding her grip on Matt's neck "the rest of you sit down and shut up it's going to be a long drive" she grinned _

_Kristine was very pale and sat down with the feeling she might vomit. Jimmy sat down as well and stared at the bag with the guns. He had to think of something fast or else all of them are going to die. _

_-------------------------------------_

I felt nothing but the warm flow of thick blood running down my side and my arm. I took few deep breaths and tried to turn over before I choked on my own blood when I heard a shot being fired, Marcie yelling and the sound of the vehicle starting up.

I tried to crawl over to the vehicle, but sharp bolts of pain ran through my body. The vehicle started to leave "wait, come back" I tried to shout but couldn't go above a whisper.

Blood ran down to my chin as I tried to call out again "come back"

The vehicle disappeared and I was alone in the dark night. I buried my face in the dirt and tried to keep myself from blacking out. I didn't rest long when someone grabbed my arm and I looked up to see a zombie ready to take a bite. I screamed and kicked it hard in the stomach, he fell back leaving a few of his yellow nails deep in my flesh.

He moaned and came after me again. I crawled away as quickly as I can, trying to find something to kill it with. I remembered seeing a man and woman dropping their guns when Marcie threatened to shoot them. I turned around and crawled on my knees while running my hands through the grass to find the stupid gun.

I bumped into another zombie. He grabbed my hair and tried to pull me up to eat me. I yanked my head away, hearing something being torn off and realize it was its' hand that was still grasped onto my hair. I crawled away from the other zombie, but it came after me just like the other one.

I felt a stick next to me and without thinking I picked it up. When the zombie kneeled down close enough, I struck it in the head with the stick with all my might in its eyeball. Blood squirted out and he fell over next to me.

I hissed in pain as more blood ooze out of my stomach wounds, and continued looking for the gun since the zombie was getting closer.

"Come on, where is it" I shouted

Suddenly my hand touched something that was cold and smooth "The gun!" I shouted.

I grabbed it quickly and shot the zombie in the head. Its bead blew up and fell to the floor. All went quiet for a while as I collapsed to the floor again and tried to breathe. It was hard to breathe, but when I did more unbearable pain ran through my body.

(_Great, you were this close to live a new life in a new place, but no, you had to drop your guard and get stab_bed)

"Oh, shut up" I said to the voice "I'm not going to die like this"

Ok, I knew the town of Winslow wasn't that far and I have five bullets in the gun. I needed to walk over to the town and find a place to hide til someone finds me or just dies in a painful yet peaceful death. I just hope it's not the second one of those two choices.

I crawled over to the nearest tree and pulled myself up from the dirt. I heard my back cracking and popping followed by more blood spilling out of my wounds. I bit my lip hard as I stood up and stood on my own two feet. I wrapped my arm around my stomach and leaned against the tree for a minute.

Taking deep breaths, I slowly walked back to the town one painful step at a time.

------------------------------

"_Are any of the vehicles done yet!" Boss yelled at one of his team members. _

_His teammate looked at him "it's impossible, Garret cut off the main wires and we don't have anything extras ones to use" _

"_Damn those funking bastards and bitches" Bossed shouted and hit the wall._

_He hissed in pain from the punch and pulled back his fist. His knuckles were already raw and red from beating up the girl name Marcie. Now they're bleeding, but that still didn't decrease his anger toward the tomboy. _

_He did have to admit the girl was pretty clever and brave to leave without the fears of what he might do to her if she was caught. _

"_Sir?" His teammate called _

"_Pack up jeep number two, I'm going out and find them myself" Boss said _

"_What about the girl, Lindsey and Jacob" he asked_

"_Don't worry about them, but they're taking too long to do a simple job" he said _

_He walked out of the burned up Supply Station and started getting ready for the trip outside. He will make sure that girl will pay for her "crimes," after all he did knew Bianca's greatest weakness, the Boy" _

_--------------------------------------------_

By the time night came, I manage to make it back into the town, but was very dizzy from the blood loss. Drops of blood were collecting next to my feet and I can hear the moans of the dead coming closer in the dark. The moon was my only source of light and I can see the shadows of the dead walking.

I always wondered if the dead could smell the blood from a human being so they would know where to go.

I kept one arm wrapped around my stomach and the other gripped tight on my gun. I had to find a place to hide before I past out and get eaten by the dead.

A zombie grabbed my bloodstained arm and pulled it to my mouth. I screamed and jammed the gun into its head causing him to let go of me. He fell to the floor with the gun jammed in its head. I bent over and pulled the gun out of its head and wiped the blood off on my shirt.

(_Be thankful there aren't too many around here_) I thought.

I walked around that seems like hours and I was getting weaker by the minute. I couldn't help but laugh when I started getting a little delusional. I just remembered walking and walking til my mind went foggy and I felt like I was climbing into something and falling.

I guess when you're dying you start seeing things and for some reason I saw something in front of me.

I saw a little girl in a pink dress staring at me from a few feet away. I stood there a little wobbly and tried to focus to see if she was human, dead or just a figment of my imagination. Then I realize it was a younger version of me and it had to be in the years when I liked pink and dresses.

"Hello, younger version of me" I smiled with blood dripping down my mouth.

"Hi" She said, waving then gave me a disgusted look "am I going to be a boy when I grow up"

I laughed "When you turn eight, you'll understand"

"Oh, anyway I'm here to tell you not to die yet or something like that" she said

"That's it" I asked

"Pretty much" said the little version of myself

"Wow, thanks, you just made me realize I wasn't that smart back then"

"I'm not the one talking to a little version of yourself that doesn't exist" she said "you were walking for a couple of hours til you found a dumpster in the street and crawled in it before passing out"

"What, what is you talking about"

"Just wake up" She said

"Huh, I thought I was already awake" I said

"Wake up"

"I am awake" I shouted at her

"No, you're not, now stop yelling and wake up!" she said

(_WAKE UP)_

I woke up and found myself in a dumpster just like that younger version of me said I would be in. The first thought that came into my mind was how the hell did I end up here without any zombies coming after me. Then the second thought was how long am I going to last in here since I can already hear the dead clawing on the metal thing.

I just hope they weren't smart enough to lift up the lid as I laid here feeling the warm blood soaking more into my shirt and pants.

I laughed again "oh, where did I go wrong, after all the psycho bitches I'd encounter why didn't I see this coming"

I continue to laugh even though there were tears coming out of my eyes then all of a sudden after taking two deep breaths I blacked out, alone in the dark . . .

------------------------------------

**Chapter Eleven: Found:** In one risky move, Jimmy escaped and off to find Bianca before it's too late.


	12. Found

**Chapter Eleven: Found**

_Garret watched through the window as a sign that said "Now Leaving Arizona" flew by and bit his lip a little "We're almost in New Mexico" He said _

"_Wonderful" Marcie said _

_Everyone was perfectly quiet ever since they left Winslow and Bianca's "dead" body. Jimmy sat down next to the one of the beds while Kristine was in a bed, curled up and sobbing. He wonders if Kristine was crying for her friend or for her for even coming along on this trip. He looked over at Matt, who was still in a headlock by Marcie with the gun still pointing at his head. _

_Matt looked over at Jimmy and for a second the two boys stared at each other with the sign of hurt in their eyes. Jimmy broke the contact and stared at the two bodies on the floor. The girl was still knocked out from Marcie hitting her in the back of her head with the gun. And the dead body of the boy had blood still pouring out of his head and spreading across the floor. The odor was beginning to be noticed by him as well as Marcie. _

_The blood spread across the floor and started to soak into Matt's black pants, but he had no choice since he couldn't move. His legs were getting numb from sitting on his knees for the last few hours, but again he had no choice to move with the gun next to his head. _

_The smell of the fresh blood was getting too nauseating to Marcie "Hey, you" She called out to Jimmy._

"_My name is Jimmy" He said _

"_Whatever, just take the body, go outside and toss him" She ordered_

"_Why?" He asked_

"_Because I said so and the smell is making me sick, now do it!" She screamed and pushed the gun harder against Matt's head. _

"_Can you at least stop the vehicle since it's hard to walk on the roof when it in motion?" Jimmy asked_

"_How dumb do you think I am?" Marcie asked "you'll just run off_"

"_Why would I run off without a gun or a vehicle to drive?" Jimmy asked_

_Marcie gave him a look and press the gun more into Matt's head "get the body, go on to the roof and dump it" _

_Jimmy looked at Matt then over to Kristine, who was pale and curled up into a small ball on the bed and staring back at him not knowing what to say or do. _

"_Ok, I'll do it" Jimmy said _

_Jimmy got up and picked up the dead body, a small potion of blood splats on the floor followed by large thick droppings. Kristine turned the other way, feeling the vomit coming again, but throwing up isn't going to help out with the odor. _

"_Kristine, can you open the ceiling door" Jimmy asked, since he didn't know how to open it and he had a body in his arms. _

_Kristine, slowly got out of the bed and walked up the small ladder and opened the hatch. A cold breeze blew inside the vehicle and the sounds of it driving down the street. Jimmy tossed the body over his left shoulder and started climbing up the small ladder. He tossed the body onto the roof and climbed out himself then closed the door. _

_Garret looked over at one of the t.v. screens and watched Jimmy trying to balance himself on the moving vehicle. Garret was too afraid to slow down since he might end up killing Matt or Kristine. _

_Jimmy got down on his knees and hands so he wouldn't slip and fall off the huge vehicle like Bianca did. _

(Jump off)_ He thought. _

_He crawled over to the edge and gripped hold of anything he can grab on to and looked down. The vehicle didn't look that high to jump off. _

(What the hell are you saying Jimmy)_ his brain shouted_

_Jimmy didn't believe Bianca was dead, she wasn't that type of person that would give up so easily. Come on, she did track him down and fought a zombie to get her ring back after all. Jimmy looked down at the street and bit his lip for the idea that was forming inside his head. _

(If Bianca is alive, no doubt, she's bleeding to death and alone so . . . )

"_I should jump off and try to find her" _

_He heard a bell ringing as if he was on a game show and got the right answer. He bit his lip again and was wondering if he should really take that risk to go see if she was alive. _

(Just jump) _His brain said _

"_Easier said than done, if he did jump he'll be landing on solid concrete and if he did survive he has nothing to defend himself. _

_Jimmy looked over at the body, a small puddle of blood started of form and shined by the moonlight. Another idea popped into his mind and thought that idea was disgusting and wrong on so many levels. _

(Grabbed the body, jump off and use it as a cushion)

"_I'm not that sick and twisted" He said out loud. _

(Well, what other choices do you have)_ His brain said _

_Jimmy looked back at the dead body and didn't know if he should do it or not. "I don't even have a weapon to defend myself" _

(Think Stupid, guys like him carries more than one weapon)

_Jimmy crawled over to the dead body and search around to find some kind a weapon. Even a knife would be better than nothing. He patted around the chest and found some extra bullets in one of his deep pockets. He placed them in his own pockets even though they wouldn't be any be without a gun. He searches around again and was in luck when he found a small one wrapped around the boy's ankle. _

_He couldn't help, but kiss the gun then dragged the body over to the edge. He sat there for a minute and went over the plan again. (_Jump and land on the body to break your fall

"_Full proof, rather disgusting, but full proof" _

_Suddenly the ceiling door opened again and Kristine popped put "Jimmy, Marcie is wondering what's taking you so long" _

_Jimmy grabbed the body and looked at Kristine "I can't live like this" he shouted and winked at her. _

_Kristine got the idea and played along "No, Jimmy, you have so much to live for" _

_Jimmy mouth the words "don't worry" then with all his might and jumped off the moving vehicle. With the body protecting him, he landed hard on the street, hearing the bones cracking and snapping before rolling around then coming to a complete stop. _

_Kristine crawled over to the edge of the vehicle to make sure he was all right. At first she saw no movement for a few seconds then she saw one of the bodies rolling on his back then she couldn't see anymore. _

_Jimmy groans in pain, the bones of the dead body weren't the only ones that were cracking. He landed on his arm wrong and when he hit the ground the blood from the dead body squirted in his face and upper chest. He rolled over again and started to spit out the blood that got into his mouth. "Wasn't the greatest plan I ever thought of?" he said _

_He rolled onto his stomach again and sat up onto his knees, hearing his bones cracking again and sat there for a minute to collect his thoughts._

_-----------------------------------_

_Kristine crawled back into the vehicle and slump down to the floor. _

"_Where is he?" Marcie asked_

_Kristine looked at her and gulped "he killed himself" _

_Matt looked at her stunned, but Marcie just laughed, "he just saved me a bullet" she said _

_Matt continues to stare at Kristine with a "you're serious" kinda look. Kristine stared at him back and quickly winks at him then somehow Matt knew Jimmy went back to get Bianca. _

_Garret knew that Jimmy didn't kill himself after all, you can see everything with these T.V. screens, he sighed and saw another sign saying "Gallup, 25 miles" _

(Not really a great way to enter the next state)_ Garret thought_

_------------------------------_

_Jimmy got up and started running back to Winslow, Arizona with little thought about the fact that he no food, water, little ammo or a plan what to do when and if he finds her. The only thing on his mind was finding her and hoping Marcie didn't stabbed her too badly._

_He didn't know where he was going, all he was doing was following the street then the deep tire tracks in the dirt. _

_It was nearly three o'clock, according to the watch he stole a while back when he made it back to the spot where Bianca should be at and was shocked to see that she was gone and two dead zombies on the ground. _

_Jimmy smiled a little_ (she's alive)

_He quickly frowned knowing that if Bianca was alive where did she go and where would she hide from the dead. Jimmy continue running back to Winslow since that was the closet town to go to if you wanted to hide out for the night. _

_Jimmy didn't want to admit it, but he was down right nervous about walking around the night knowing that there were flesh eating dead people out there ready to take a bite. He wasn't lying when he told Bianca that this is his first time being out here. He can actually hear the moans of the dead as he was running through the trees til he found the street that will take him in to Winslow._

_Two hours past when he enter the town of Winslow and looked around. It was a medium size town and have no clue where to begin looking for Bianca. He stared at the street and noticed small puddles and large drops of some type of liquid shining in the moon light leading a trail in to the town. _

_Jimmy started following the trail and spotted a few zombies popping out behind the stores and alleys and slowly walking over to him. He tried to stay calm even though his heart was pounding so hard that it was hurting his chest. _

(Oh, come on, Jimmy, you're a twenty-year-old man and scared to be out here. Garret, that little sixteen year old looks braver than you do right this minute)

"_Shut up" he shouted, but his voice brought more attention to the dead as they were getting nearer. _

_Jimmy pulled out the gun and pointed at one of the zombies, hoping his aim is better than he thought it is. He fired the gun and hit the zombie in the neck, blood poured out of it's decompose skin and it was still walking over. _

"_Dammit" he said to himself. _

_A zombie grabbed his shoulder all of a sudden and tried to pull him over to bit, but Jimmy pull away and fired the gun again. The bullet hit the zombie across the cheek as it stretch out his arms and tried grabbing Jimmy again. _

"_Get away from me" he shouted, and kicked the zombie right in the knee cap. The leg bent in the wrong direction and the night was filled with the sound of the bones snapping. The zombie fell down, but not even that couldn't stop it from trying to eat Jimmy. As the zombie crawled over, Jimmy ran as fast as he could before he found himself trapped. _

_He ran and ran til there were no zombies in sight and then stopped to rest. He cursed himself for his bad aim and the fact that he didn't prepare himself for this since it was just a once in a life time chance to escape._

_He walked around the streets, trying to find the trail of drops again because part of him was telling him that was blood. He turned the corner of a store, grasped and hid behind the store again from what he saw. A dozen or so zombies were crowded around something and banging on it. _

(What are they doing over there)_ he thought. _

_He thought about what his friend Alex told him the first time they met. _

(You're full crap Alex, I doubt they could still have their senses even though they're dead)

(I'm telling you Jimmy, they might be dead but somehow they know where to look for living people as if they can smell them out)

(Like I said you're full of crap)

_If Alex was full of crap about that then why would the dead be hanging around that corner unless._

_Jimmy ran up to the dead and waved to get their attention "HEY, HEY, DEAD PEOPLE OVER HERE" _

_Most of the dead slowly turned around and started walking over to him with their arms extended out. Jimmy took a few steps back and noticed they were standing near a dumpster. He continues taking a few steps back, making sure they were following him before running around the store he was hiding behind. He ran fast enough to make sure he didn't get caught, but slow enough to make sure they were following. _

_After he ran around the store he ran over to the dumbster and noticed a large stain of blood smeared at the top in the cloudy morning light. He opened the lid and nearly dropped it when he saw the nearly dead Bianca, curled up in a pool of blood. Her arms, face, hair and clothes were soaked on the thick red blood made Jimmy doubt if she was alive. _

_He turned around and saw the dead coming back. "Don't worry Bianca, I'll get you out of here" _

_He walked over to the back side of the dumbster and with all his stretch he manages to tip it over. A loud crash echo throughout the dead town as he quickly pulled Bianca out of the dumbster and lifted her over his shoulder. He can already feel the warm blood soaking it to his shoulder as he rushed out of the street and tried to find a place to hide. _

_More and more zombies were starting to appear to a point Jimmy couldn't out run them since they were popping out of nowhere. He thanks god that they were slow but wishes they came in fewer numbers. Everywhere he turned, another zombie comes out and tries to bite him or Bianca. It was hard for him to shoot while holding on to Bianca and he was already out of ammo and didn't have time to reload. _

_His whole right shoulder was soaked with Bianca's blood when he came across a large neighborhood with two stories houses. The houses were either boarded up or broken in when the zombie invasion first started, but Jimmy thought if there was a two-story house there might be an attic or a place to get up on top of the roof. _

_He had to hurry since he spotted a few zombies crawling out from some of the houses so he ran to the closes house he can find. He walked inside since the door was torn off and lay on the ground and looked around. He slowly walked up the stairs and looked around to find a first aid kit or just a towel to help to stop the bleeding in Bianca's wounds. He walked down a small hallway, but stop when a sting lightly hit his face. He looked up and smiled in relief when he realizes it is the string to open the attic door. _

_He didn't have time to smile when he heard footsteps and moaning sounds entering the door and walking upstairs. _

(Maybe they did smell me out) _Jimmy thought as he quickly grabbed the string, brought down the stairs and climbed up into the attic. He quickly placed Bianca down and crawled over to pull up a ladder. Jimmy pulled it up before a zombie could grab it, pull up the string then sat there to take few deep breaths. _

_Even with the light of the cloudy morning coming into the window it was still dark inside the attic. He crawled over to Bianca and place his ear near her mouth and smiled when he could hear her breathing. It was faint and weak, but she was breathing. He wiped the blood off her mouth and patted her cheek very lightly to try to wake her up. _

"_Bianca, Bianca, can you hear me, Bianca" he whispered and shook her a little. _

_He did this for about five minutes til Bianca started coughing with spit and blood running down her cheek. Jimmy wiped the blood away from her mouth again when Bianca started opening her eyes. _

_-------------------------_

"Bianca"

I awoke once again without a clue where I was at or how badly my wounds have gotten. All I know that I wasn't alone when I keep hearing someone calling my name.

"Bianca, can you hear me, it's me, Jimmy"

I was in great pain and sticky from the dried blood on my skin. "What happened, where am I" I looked at Jimmy, who was smiling at me "where did you come from?"

"It's a long story" he said as he was walking around the place we were at looking for something. "Marcie took over the vehicle, killed some boy that was traveling with her then took-" He stop talking.

"Took what?" I asked weakly

Jimmy turned away as if he didn't want to tell me the rest. He grabbed a sheet he found, walk over to me and sat down "nothing, to keep it short, I escaped and came back to find you"

I was about to asked why when he slowly started lifting up my torn shirt. I smacked his hand away but that just brought more pain to the gash on my left arm.

"I need to look at your wound and it's coming from you stomach" Jimmy said

I blushed and I think he can tell why I smacked him away. "I'm not going to look at that" he said, looking away from embarrassment.

I looked away; taking deep breaths to keep me from passing out again as I felt my shirt being pulled up again. "My god" I heard Jimmy whispering, I guess it was that bad. "Try not to swallow your tongue this is going to hurt" he said

The next thing I knew, he pressed the sheet against my stomach wound hard. A jolt of pain flew up my spine and I couldn't keep myself from screaming. The pain was unbearable and I felt like I was going to past out again. It took five minutes to stop the bleeding and for Jimmy to wrap the thin sheet around my stomach and tied it into a knot. "There, it wasn't that bad, was it?" he said

"Speak for yourself" I said, moaning in pain.

I felt Jimmy gently caressing my stomach where the wound was at "what are you doing" I asked

"I'm just trying to make the pain go away" he said

"Well, stop" I said

He pulled his hand away "sorry, did Marcie stab you anywhere else" he asked

"Just on my left arm, but it's nothing too serious" I said

"Bianca, your whole arm is stain in blood, it is serious" he said, getting up again and looking around.

"Where are we?" I asked

"Well, after I escape and found you in a dumpster"

"Don't asked how I got there?" I said

"Fine by me, anyway I took you here in this house that has an attic. We'll be safe here til you get better" he said

"What happen to the others, are they ok?" I asked

Jimmy was silent for a minute "don't worry, as long as Garret is driving her to Texas, she's not going to hurt your friends" he said

"How did you escape?" I asked

Jimmy sat down next to me again with another cloth he found and started wrapping my wound on my arm. "If we had some water here I can clean off some of the stains"

"You didn't answer my question" I said

"I jumped off the vehicle while it was in motion and use a dead body as my pillow for a soft landing" he said

I stared at him and he just smiled "I rather not get into the details"

I tired to smile but I felt so weak from the large amount of blood loss "why did you risk your life to come and get me" I asked

Again it took him a while to answer my question "Well, Matt and the other didn't think you were dead and since I actually had a chance to escape I was the one that came looking for you" he said

I started to laugh a little "what's so funny" He asked

"I can't believe that you would just jump off a fifteen-foot vehicle and walked back into a town full of dead people to save a person, you only met three days ago. I mean people I punch in the eye the first time we met would gladly to see me die in a terrible way. But no, you continued to come over and gave up everything so you can come on this trip, which seem impossible now thanks to that bitch." I continue to laugh "why is it that I'm always get stuck with the crazy ones and now with someone whom I have no idea why he's here in the first-"

Jimmy kissed me and I shut up . . .

---------------------------------------

**Chapter Twelve: Unfinish Business: Still recovering from her wounds, Bianca and Jimmy were capture by Boss and was taken to a town so he could finish them off in the game "The Battle to the Death"**


	13. Unfinished Business

**Chapter Twelve: Unfinished Business**

_Matt woke up with a terrible headache and blood running down the side of his head. He tried to move but for some reason he couldn't move his arms or legs. He started to panic when he realized his mouth was tape shut and he was tied up along with Kristine, Garret and the girl, Marcie hit with the gun a while back. _

(How the hell did this happened)_ he thought as he tried to move, but only send him falling to the floor with the others falling on top of him. _

_All he remembered that they came to a town called Gallup, New Mexico when Marcie started yawning since she hasn't slept all night long. Kristine fell asleep and Garret looked like he was about to past out and then everything went black._

_The ceiling door opened up, nearly blinded him from the suddenly light of the morning and Marcie climbed in with some food and soda. She noticed Matt was awake and smiled. _

"_Hello sleepy head, I thought I hit you hard enough to be out for a couple of days not for a couple of hours" _

_Matt started cursing her, but it was muffled by the duck tape. "Oh, shut up, Matt" she said and kicked him right in the chest. "I only did so I can sleep and take a break for a while. I'm just glad Boss kept some rope in one of these. And it was easy tying up the others when they were asleep" she laughed. _

_Matt tried to cough but it was still muffle by the tape. Marcie laughed and sat down to eat the food "see what happens when you follow Bianca around, Matt, you just end up in a lot of trouble, but not to worry I'm not going to kill you since Garret is your friend and won't drive unless you are all safe" _

_After finishing her meal, Marcie yawned and walked over to one of the beds again and fell asleep._

_------------------------------ _

I slowly opened my eyes to adjust to the light shining from the small attic window and groan. Sleeping on a hard floor with a deep wound on your stomach wasn't the best feeling in the world when you're waking up.

I looked around and spotted a first aid kit next to me, opened and used, and noticed my shirt was rolled up a little with fresh bandages wrapped around my stomach. I blushed a little when I started remembering what happened last night.

I was talking and Jimmy kissed me to shut me up, but when he pulled away I was so stunned I couldn't speak and I guess he took the hint and walked over to a corner. It was another ten minutes when I fell asleep again.

I turned my head to the left to take a closet look at the attic and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw something at the far left corner. Apparently a family did live here when I saw the remains of three people, huddled together, who probably starved to death. I frowned, thinking that can be me and Jimmy if we stay here any longer.

I felt a cold breeze hitting the top of my head and while biting my lip, I turned to my side and spotted a large window with the cloudy light hitting my eyes. I rolled onto my stomach, a bolt of pain flew up my body as I picked myself up off the floor and onto my knees. I let out a big sigh and lifted myself up onto my feet, feeling something in my wounds tearing and the pain.

I slowly walked over to the open windows, already hearing the moans of the dead, and walked out of it and onto the roof. It was another cloudy, cold day with a slight breeze, god it made me sicker then I ever felt before. I spotted Jimmy sitting at the corner of the roof, staring at the dead which kinda remind me of the time when Matt and I did that when we were trapped in Wal-Mart.

I walked over to him and took a deep breath "hey" I said

Jimmy jumped a little when he heard my voice and turned his head to face me. "Hey" He said, sounding a little nervous. "How are you feeling?"

"Sick" I said, plained and simple. "But that nothing compares to what could have happened if you didn't rescue me"

"I just gave you a second chance to live" Jimmy asked, feeling proud of himself

"Third chance actually, the second chance is a messy story that I really don't want to talk about" I said

Jimmy nodded "want to sit down with me"

I nodded and sat down next to him, too prideful to look at him in the eye. I just stared at one to the zombies, a man that had a crush skull and an eye hanging just by a vein and missing the bottom jaw.

I wasn't sure I like Jimmy that way, hell, I only knew the guy for four days now and the only crush I ever had was on Marc, who is dead now and rotting somewhere in Phoenix. I looked at Jimmy at my corner eye, he seems to be lost in deep thought about something, but I had a good feeling what it was.

(_Might as well get this over with_) I thought. "Jimmy?"

"Yes" He asked, looking at me.

I curse my height for a minute, even sitting down, Jimmy as about a foot and a half taller then me. Out of my team I was the second shortest person, Marcie was the shortest maybe that is why she so angry about life. "Jimmy, look, about last night and the whole saving me and stuff"

"Yeah" he said, leaning forward a bit to my face.

"Well, I just want to thank you and well, I don't know if I feel that way about you, you seriously caught me off guard" I said

Jimmy frowned a little but quickly smiled "I understand" he said

"So, how are we going to get out of here" I asked

"Beats me, if we had a chance to get down to the ground, we can hot wire one of those cars" He pointed at the cars that were left in the neighborhood. "We can drive out of here and try to find the others again"

I looked around and noticed the house were connected four at a time "we can walk over to the end the house and run as fast as we can to one of the cars"

"I don't think I can do that" Jimmy said

"You ran all the way back here without any problems" I said

"Well, this is different, there weren't more than three dozens zombies at one place" He said

I stared at him and he caves in "ok, do you even know how to hot wire a car"

"Just because Garret does it all the time doesn't mean I can't" I said and, walking to the end of the houses.

When I got to the last house I smashed the attic window and walked inside.

"What are you doing" Jimmy asked

I looked around at the boxes that were up here and started opening them "out of all this junk, these people have in here, there's got be one box that has some clothes in it" I said

"Since when are you so worried about clothes" he asked

"I'm don't, but even I don't want to wear a torn up, blood-soaked T-shirt" I said

-----------------------------

_Boss drove into the dead town of Winslow, he didn't even need a tracker to track down those bastards and bitches who stole his Death Machine, the weight of the vehicle left tire tracks an inch deep in the street. He was tired from driving all night but the determination kept him awake and alert to make sure no dead comes near him. _

_He found it odd, it was a town but there were no zombies in sight, he just shrugged and drove into the town. He had the radio on at a low volume and he couldn't stop smiling as he daydreams about how he was going to kill each one of those kids in a slow, no mercy death. He looked around, he hasn't been out this far from town and no doubt he would go back until the little tomboy was dead even if it means driving all the way to Texas. _

_He stopped when he saw a few zombies heading into a neighborhood, which again, he found it odd and decided to follow with one hand clutch tight on the loaded gun on his lap._

(Why would those fucken things be surrounding those houses)_ he thought? _

_-----------------------------------_

Jimmy tried so hard not to laugh as I walked out with a new shirt on. Out of all the houses we had to hide out in, the family had to have a couple of girly-girls because the only shirts I found were bright pink, yellow and sky blue. I wore a bright blue shirt that had the words "cutie" on it in pink glitter.

"If you laugh I will push you off this roof"

"What's wrong "cutie" you're mad because they didn't have anything black" he said

I playfully pushed him but that only made him laughed even more "will you stop laughing!" I shouted and pushed him, a little bit harder, again.

When I pushed him again, he caught my arm and pulled me to him. I hissed in pain from my wounds but he ended it by kissing me again with his arms wrapped around my back.

I pushed him away and cleared my throat "if you do that again, next time I will hit you" I said

Jimmy nodded and smiled "maybe you'll like it next time and won't"

"Don't be so sure" I said

I smiled at him but noticed something odd about the zombies. I ran over to the edge and saw them walking away. "What's going on" I asked

"Maybe they got tired of waiting for us" Jimmy thought

"Don't be stupid, they don't know how to think" I said

"Well, let's not stand here and ask questions this is our chance to get out of here"

I nodded "can you run with that wound" he asked

"It will hurt like hell, but I can run" I said

"I did bandaged them up pretty thick so it won't bleed too much" he said

Since we couldn't get out the way we got in, Jimmy found some rope and wires and tied them together for us to slid down the house. Jimmy slid down first and got his gun ready in case a zombie would just pop out of nowhere.

I looked at my wound, a small blood stain started to appear, I just hope finding the others would be easy or my wound is never going to close. I tucked my gun half way in my pants when I heard Jimmy screaming then a low thump.

"Jimmy?" I ran over the edge and didn't see Jimmy anywhere.

"Jimmy!" I shouted but still didn't get an answer.

I slid down the rope and landed a little roughly and looked around, hoping he was just playing around again. "Jimmy, where are you, this isn't funny"

I walked around the house, but as soon as I turned the corner a large hand grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up and slammed be against the wall. I started to gag as a pair of brown, veiny eyes stared at me as the grip on my throat tighten.

"Well, look who we have here"

I couldn't believe it, it was Boss, how the hell did he got all the way out here. I tried to say something but all that came out was gagging noises.

"It's a small world after all if I found you so easily" Boss said smiling "you made a bid mistake, taking my vehicle, burning down the station, and killing my mother"

Blood started to drip out of my nose as I kicked him right in stomach as hard as I can in order for him to let me go. It works, he dropped me as he fell over a little and I started to crawl away. I started to cough and gag as air started to come back into my lungs but from that it only slowed me down and soon a foot connected with my back and I was pushed to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going, you, me and that bitch Marcie have some unfinished business to take care up?"

"Where's Jimmy" I coughed, my throat felt like it was on fire.

"Oh, don't worry about your boyfriend, he'll live if you tell me where my vehicle is" he asked

I looked around and noticed the dead were coming back "I'll tell you if you just take us away from this town" I said

I could hear Boss sighing angrily and grab me by the arm and force me to get up. I was dragged like a rag doll behind the house where a jeep was parked and was tossed in the back. There next to me was Jimmy, with blood running down his forehead form where Boss must've hit him. I slowly got up and sat down as Boss took off, running over the dead with the radio full blast.

The loud volume made my head hurt and sicker "Tell me where is my Vehicle" he asked again

"I don't know, Marcie has it now, she could be in New Mexico as we speak" I said. I didn't want to fight him or do anything to would make him angrier, this was my only chance to get back to the others not to mention that he had his hand on the gun on his lap, ready to fire if I made a sudden move.

-----------------------------------

_Night fell and Matt and the others were still tied up, but this time Matt had some company when Garret woke up. They sat there on the ground, listening to the music that Marcie was playing and singing to. _

(Make her stop, she's like William Hung from American Idol) _Matt thought as he groans from the suffering_ _as Marcie was singing, "Pieces of Me_"

_Marcie kicked him in the stomach again "you're just jealous because I can sing better than you" _

_Matt tried to say something, but it was muffle by the tape. Marcie bent down and torn the tape off in one swipe. Matt screamed from the pain "your singing is just likes' Ashlee Simpson, it's stupid and fake" _

"_Shut up, you piece of shit" she screamed and kicked him again. _

"_You're just saying that because you're still upset about Bianca dying and that other bastard killed himself" Marcie yelled._

_While Matt and Marcie were arguing, Garret looked at the t.v. screens in the front and noticed something coming up in a jeep. The Jeep parked right in front of the door and Garret's eyes widened when he was who it was. _

_Garret started bouncing around trying to get Marcie's attention, not knowing it was waking up Kristine and the other girl Lindsey. _

"_Garret, what's a matter" Matt asked_

_Garret was literally tearing up from who was out there, knowing very well what the punishment was for stealing the vehicle. He swung his neck at the direction of the T.V. screen, but Marcie and Matt didn't know what he was trying to say. _

"_Marcie, will you take the tape off his mouth" Matt asked_

"_I don't have to listen to you" Marcie said _

_With the loud music on, Marcie didn't hear the door opening since her back was facing it. Matt's eyes widened when he saw Boss stepping inside and walked over to Marcie with a smirk on his face. _

"_Matt? Garret? What the hell is wrong with you" Marcie asked, "don't tell me you're finally going to admit that you're scared."_

_A hand grabbed hold of Marcie by her shoulder, she could feel her collar bone snapping from the harsh grasp as she was turned around to face Boss. Before she could say anything or react, Boss punched her right in the face so hard the sound could be heard louder then the music. Marcie fell the floor and before she had time to get up, he kicked her repeatedly in the stomach, ribs and back til she stopped moving. _

_Boss looked at Matt and Garret and the girls that were still a bit daze to know what was going on. He just smirked and walked back outside then came back a minute later with Jimmy on his shoulder. He dropped Jimmy as if he was trash to the floor then went back outside again. _

_Matt's jaw dropped when Boss came back in, holding Bianca by her neck again, and shut the door behind him. _

"_Bianca!" Matt shouted from shocked_

"_Yes, boy, your friend is alive and well" He said, tightening his grip on her neck "but not for long"_

_Bianca led out a gasp of air as he continues to choke her even more. She had blood smeared around her nose and mouth from the nose bleed._

"_Put her down!" Matt shouted._

"_If you insist" Boss said and dropped her._

_Bianca fell to the floor hard and started taking deep breaths but she blacked out. "Bianca, Bianca, wake up" Matt shouted_

_Boss walked over to Lindsey and tore off the tape from her mouth "you can't even do a simple job, can you" he yelled_

"_I'm sorry Boss, but Marcie stole the remote from Jacob and-"_

"_I don't need your excuses, now where is Jacob" he asked_

"_I don't know, I was knocked out when Marcie hit me with the gun" she explained_

"_She shot the boy" Matt said _

_Boss growled and stormed over to Marcie again and gave her another hard kick. _

"_Can you untie me" Lindsey asked_

"_If I do that then I have to untie the others, beside that's what you get for not doing a simple fucken job" he said _

_The music was turned off and Boss got behind the wheel and put it into drive "no need to shout, Boy, just be happy I brought your friend back" _

_Garret and Matt looked at each other. Garret was scared shit and turned awfully pale. They started moving again and didn't have a clue where Boss was taking them. Matt stayed wide awake with Garret the whole trip while watching Bianca, making sure she was still breathing. He still couldn't believe she was alive but looked awfully sick and pale. _

"_Boss, where we going" Lindsey asked, nervously_

_Boss didn't answer or even looked at his teammate all he did was drive faster. _

"_I'm going to be killed" Lindsey said _

"_What was your first clue" Matt asked_

_Lindsey glared at him "he might just shoot me in the head but you, that girl, and Marcie, he's going to beat you til you're dead" she said _

_Matt and Garret frowned and Kristine started to cry. _

_-------------------------------------------_

_It was early the next morning when Matt saw Boss stopping near an outpost and turned on the BC radio. "I like permission to enter the gate" he said_

"_Where are you from and how many are in your party?"_

"_Flagstaff, Arizona and I have seven and me in the party" he said _

"_What is your reason for being here" the guy on the radio asked_

"_Just traveling and I heard this is the place where they have great fighting games" _

_The gate opens and Boss drove in while the guy on the radio said "Welcome to Albuquerque, New Mexico, home of the bloodiest death games of the state" _

_Matt didn't like the sound of that as Boss park the vehicle and walked over to the four that were tied up, Matt's eyes widened as a fist flew straight to his face, there was a great deal of pain then all went black. _

_-------------------------------------------_

I awoke from the sound of stomping feet and the ground vibrating. My throat was very sore and I knew my neck was bruised by Boss's grip. I looked around and noticed I was in a different place and in a cage?

I looked around the giant cage and saw Jimmy, Matt, Garret, Kristine and another girl in here as well. I crawled over to Matt and started to untie him and the others then smack him lightly on his cheek to wake up.

"Matt, Matt, wake up" I said

Matt opened one of his eyes, the other one was swollen and had a smiley shape cut under it. The first thing he did was jumped up and hugged with really tight which was very painful for my wound on my stomach. " I thought you were dead" he said, shaking and hugging me tighter.

"Matt, this really hurts"

He pulled away "sorry"

"It's ok, but where are we" I asked

"We're in Albuquerque, New Mexico" he said "After Boss drove over here he knocked me out so I have no idea where we're at"

We stood up and walked over to the bars and looked around. We were in some building that looked like the one back at home; it had an arena surrounded by a cage, bleachers that were pack with people stomping their feet in a rhythm.

"What's going on" Kristine asked, getting up and rubbing her arms to get blood back in after being tied up for a whole day.

"We don't know" Matt asked

"I know one thing though, a fight is about to happen and look whose going to be in it" I said

We watched as Boss walked inside the cage and waited for his victim to step forward.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome all to "The Battle of the Death" We like to thank this man who would like to be called Boss for letting us see the punishment he is about to inflict on his victims" A Guy on the intercom shouted and the crowd roared in excitement.

A teenager came up to us and smiled "what did you guys do to piss of that guy" she asked

"That's none of your business, now get us out of here" I shouted

"Can't do" she said laughing "you, him, and that other boy are next to be punished while the others are going to be use for bait in the next game" she said, pointing to me, Matt and Jimmy then walked away.

"Bianca, there is no way I'm going to be zombie food, you gotta do something" Kristine said

"I will Kristine, but I don't have any ideas right now" I said

"Guys, look" Matt pointed

I turned to see the arena and spotted two men dragging Marcie over to the arena while she struggled to get away "NO, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T LOCK ME UP WITH HIM." She screamed, clawed and kicked wildly "HE'S GOING TO KILL ME, PLEASE, LET ME GO!"

The cage door opened and she was literally tossed inside with the cage door shut and locked. Marcie quickly got up and tried to open the cage door "PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE"

Boss smiled and crack his cut up knuckles "she's a goner" Kristine whispered.

I nodded and I knew Marcie's death isn't going to be pretty . . .

--------------------------------------------

**Chapter Thirteen: The Punishment: Marcie's bloody end**: Bianca watched in horror as Marcie receive her punishment and must think of a plan fast knowing she next to be punished.


	14. The Punishment: Marcie's Bloody End

**Chapter Thirteen: The Punishment: Marcie's Bloody End**

Marcie banged on the cage wall, screaming and shouting for someone to open the cage door, but was completely ignored by the other people. The people in the bleachers just stomped their feet and yelled at Boss to kill her already.

"KILL HER, KILL HER, KILL HER" Echo thought out the building with the sound of feet stomping to the rhythm. From this there is one thing I have to say about this town . . .

These people are fucken crazy.

Marcie continued to bang on the cage door with tears pouring down her black eyes from the beating she got before. The crowd's cheer grew louder when Marcie's hair was grabbed by Boss and was tossed to the middle of the arena. A small patch of hair was missing from her hair which was now clutch in Boss's fist.

Marcie tired to crawl away but was grabbed by the leg and is drag back in the middle again.

"Come on, get up and take the punishment!" Boss screamed at the top of his lungs.

He pulled Marcie onto her feet and as soon as she was standing, he punched her right into her mouth. The sound of the punch could be heard all the way from where I was at.

Drops of thick blood sprayed on the dirty white floor of the arena as Marcie took a few steps back while covering her mouth. More tears poured out of her eyes as she removed her hands away letting blood and pieces of her teeth to fall to the floor. Before she could do anything she was grabbed by her hair again and was literally lifted up into the air with her screaming and struggling to let go.

Using her as a punching bag, Boss started hitting her in the stomach, face, shoulder and chest.

"Boss is very strong for an old guy" Kristine said

"Idiot, he's only thirty years old" a girl's voice said in the back

We turned to see the girl sitting up and rubbing her head a bit. "Who are you" I asked

"I'm Lindsey, my cousin and I were hired to go along with Marcie to get the vehicle back" she said

"Um, Marcie killed him after she knocked you out" Kristine said

Lindsey didn't say anything, all she did was shook her head and sat there.

"So you were the one Marcie was telling me about before she pulled a switch blade on me" I said

"And she must've gotten you deep because you're bleeding" She said, pointing at my shirt.

"Bianca, when did you started wearing bright colors" Kristine asked

I looked down at my dirty shoes, boy, this is embarrassing. I can actually feel Kristine and Matt leaning over to hear the details. I guess Matt could sense the uncomfortable closer I was feeling when he said "Kristine, why don't you check to see if Garret and Jimmy are ok"

"Ok" she said, walking away.

"So" Matt said looking around a bit then at me again "what happened with you and Jimmy"

I turned red, dammit I felt like a girly-girl and soon I'll be waking up dress up like a Valley girl and saying "like" all the time. I stared at the arena again, Boss slammed Marcie's head in the freshly bloodstained floor. Her screams were choked up by the blood and saliva and . . . ooh . . . I heard a bone crack.

"Nothing happened" I said

Matt gave me that look, the look that read ' you're lying to me Bianca'. I hated that look. "He found me in a place I'm rather ashamed of telling and took me to a safe place for me to recover." I said

He gave me the 'I know there's more' look.

"He took care of my wounds"

"You actually let him-"

"I"m not one of those sluts that shows them everything Matt!" I shouted.

Kristine, Lindsey, Garret, who was awake, stared at me for what seems like a long time til Garret spoke up. "Um . . . what's going on here" he asked

"Boss went insane and bought us all here to be slaughter to death by his own hands" Lindsey said.

She was in the back of the cage with her knees up to her chest and losing her color every second. "I might be spared since Jacob was my cousin and was part of Boss's team. I'll just get a beating, but for the rest of you, you guys are dead meat" she said

"Geez, thanks a lot for your kindness" Matt said

"But she's right if we don't get out of here" I said

"Getting beat up by Boss isn't new" Garret said

"Consider Bianca and Matt being lucky" Kristine said

"Why" Garret asked

"You, me and Lindsey are zombie food in the next game" Kristine shouted and started to cry.

Garret looked horrified "Bianca, you need to do something, I don't want to be eaten alive" Garret shouted.

"Alright Garret, stop spitting on me" I said

"Oh, just face the fact, you whining sixteen-year-old, we're all dead" Lindsey said

"You will, but we're be out of here before he finishes Marcie's off" I said

"Which is any minute now" Lindsey said, pointing at the arena.

-----------------------------------------

_Marcie fell to her knees and started throwing up blood all over the floor and watched it spread across and touching her thumbs. Drops of tears fell into the thick puddle, slowly mixing, follow by more drops of blood falling from her mouth, nose and the gashes on her cheeks. _

_She can hear Him laughing at her for this humiliation. Oh, the laugher, that's all she could hear as she slowly lifted her head up and stared at Him and his cut up knuckles. The crowd shouting at him to finish her off and a few occasions, throwing food at her as if she was an animal in a cage. _

_Fuck it, she was that; an animal, the prey for an insane killer. _

(Where did I go wrong)_ She thought. _

_All her teenage life, she did everything she can to be perfect, of course she thought she was perfect, she was skinny, nice, with two lovely parents and two older brothers that were always there to protect her. The flaw in her 'perfect life' was the fact that she dresses up like a boy and only had a couple of friends. _

_Then she fell in love, hard, with a boy in her freshman's year; a tall, blonde football player that was in his junior year. _

(Marcie smiled from those memories as she was dragged to the center of the arena again)

_She worshiped him with every fiber of her being and due to that foolishness, a group of anorexia blondes noticed her affection for the boy. _

"_Hey look girls, a tomboy is in love with one of the football players" The leader of the group shouted. _

_Laugher booms throughout the hallway and the boy looked at her with disgust while his friends made fun of him for having an unattached person liking him. Being a tomboy, Marcie bit her lips to hold back the tears and ran off as far away as she can to the laugher would fade. Next thing she knew, she was over a toilet, throwing up, crying and cursing herself for being a tomboy. _

(Marcie was lifted up into the air again and was tossed to the other side of the arena, crashing into the cage wall and collapsing to the floor. She spit out another tooth and just laid there)

_Make-up, high heel shoes, bright, glittery clothes, blonde highlights in brown hair and no eating because you're a fat pig. _

"_But DAMMIT, why do I have to be so short!" she screamed at herself in the mirror. _

_Pulling on her hair, she cursed herself over and over again for being so short and fat. No boy would love a girl short and fat no matter how pretty she is. She would fix her up and go to school, only to be laughed at by the 'perfect' girls and be called a wannabe. _

"_I must be perfect" she screamed and punched the mirror. Pieces fell to the floor while others pierced through her skin. Blood._

(Marcie was too out of it to hear Boss yelling at her to get up unless she wanted another round of beatings before killing her. Marcie stared at the cage that held her teammates in and right into the brown eyes of Bianca. She hated her.)

_Her 'perfect' life ended when the dead came to her town of Phoenix. _

"_Hurry up Marcie!" Her mother shouted "we got to go to a safe place before those things come" _

_With a bandage wrapped around her hand after that mirror incident, Marcie scrambled around her room, grabbing all her make-up and hairbrushes. _

"_MARCIE!"_

"_I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MY MAKEUP" She shouted. _(I must be perfect)

_It took her two brothers to drag her out of the house with her screaming and kicking. The dead heard her screams and ran toward her and her family at full speed since they were fresh. Her father held them back with bullets as she was shoved into the car with her mother and brothers. As she watched her father being eaten alive, she could only think of one thing. _

_She didn't get her make-up. _

(She was grabbed by the hair and was lifted up so she would stand on her feet. Boss was yelling at her to wipe the smile off of her face as she continues to daydream)

_Due to the commotion on the day the dead walked the earth, there was a car crash, leaving the rest of her family dead and Marcie crawling away in a daze. She walked around the streets, cursing her family for not letting her get her things. The dead were near as well as people. Shots were fired and Marcie past out._

(More punches and more blood shooting out of her mouth and nose, but she continued to smile)

_Months past in her new home of Flagstaff and Marcie recovered then was force to join up the Supplies Gathers. Which means she has to go under severe training and obeying orders given by The Leader she was about to meet. _

"_Hi, I'm Bianca, the leader of the team you were assign to" _

_Marcie looked up to see a messy tomboy with her arm extended out for a handshake. She hated her and looked away, muttering "not perfect" _

_She bit her lip hard throughout the two years as she obeyed every order the tomboy gave and watched her become more popular in the town for bringing food or taking serious beatings in the zombie games and walking away from it proudly. She wasn't even perfect, but she had an engagement ring on. _

_Yes, she blames her 'un-perfect' new life on the tomboy, even after the attempt to kill her, Marcie still suffers. _

_With this in her mind Marcie slowly got up from the floor, blood coated her body, her face was full of gashes and was swelling up and most of her teeth were punched out. She was ready, ready to die and go to hell with all the other 'non-perfect' people. _

_She turned around to face Boss with a big smile on her beat-up face and waited. Boss cracked his bloody knuckles and swung. _

_Marcie lifted her head and was punched right in the nose. She felt her nasal cavity shoving up and stabbing her brain with a fatal cracking sound. A gush of blood blew out of her nose as she collapsed to the floor, dying with her eyes wide open. _

_-----------------------------_

I pushed Kristine to the edge of the cage before she had a chance to throw up on us. As I patted her back, the others were having a hard time believing that death happened and I knew if we didn't do anything soon, that's going to be our fate as well.

"I don't want to die" Kristine cried.

"It's ok, Kristine, we'll make it out of here soon"

She threw up again and I wonder how can she have so much vomit when she hasn't eaten much in days.

Boss was given a break so that people could remove Marcie's body out of the arena and mop up the bloody floor. Boss walked over to the cage and smirk "Don't worry, Bianca, you and your little sidekick are next" he said, and walked away.

Matt stared at me, wondering if I came up with a plan yet and sadly, I haven't. I watched as Marcie's body was dumb into a pile of dead people that had a sign that said "Trash" on it.

This is bad, I was too wounded to fight Boss at full strength and I had to face it, beatings from Boss were nothing you can get use too and everyone knew he can take on more then two people. Only a weapon could kill him and that's when it hit me.

The Switchblade!

Marcie probably has it in one of her pockets and didn't have time to get it out during the beating, but how can I get it if I'm trapped in here. I looked around and spotted a boy that looked like Garret's age, pasting by the cage while drinking a soda.

"Hey, kid" I shouted

The boy stopped and looked around to see where the voice is coming from. "Over here" I shouted again.

He spotted me and walked over to the cage "what" he asked

"Look, my best friend and I are about to be beaten to a bloody mess like that girl so I was wondering if you can do me a favor"

He took a big sip from his soda "What is it and it can't be me letting you go unless I want to be the next victim in one of these hellish games" he said

"Look, all I need is for you to go over to the girl's dead body and bring me back her switchblade"

"You want me to pickpocket a dead person. that's gross" he said

"Please, do me this favor and if I make out of this alive, I'll give you something in return" I said

"Anything" he asked

"Yeah, anything"

"Bianca" Matt called out "They're getting ready for the next fight"

"Just name it" I asked

"I know about that giant vehicle that guy came here inif you're going to leave can you take me out of this place" he asked

"Take you with us" I was stunned, I thought he would want money or something like that.

"Yeah, I have friends that live in the El Paso Outpost and I've been trying to find a way out of here"

"Deal, we'll take you there, now go and get me that damn switchblade" I shouted

He nodded and ran over to the pile of bodies and started searching through the pockets with a disgusted look on his face.

The cage door opened and two people grabbed Matt by both of his arms and pulled him out. "Bianca!" Matt shouted as he struggled to get away.

Garret tried to hold him back but he was punch in the cheek "Back away kid or we'll just shoot you here and be done with it" One of the men said as the other punched Matt in the stomach and dragged him away.

Lindsey stayed in the corner, Garret cupped his cheek from the pain and Kristine sat there, pale from vomiting. "Bianca" she called out.

"Don't worry Kristine, we're going to get out of here, just keep yourself calm" I said

She nodded but grew paler as two other people came in and grabbed me by the arm. I grabbed hold of the cage wall trying to buy me some time for the boy to return.

"Calm on, girl, don't make me have to hit you" the guy said.

I kicked and screamed to get away from their grip as they tried to drag me out of the cage. I turned my head to see the boy running over with the switchblade in his hand. The two men didn't care that the boy came over and quickly handed me the switchblade, they just want to see two teenagers getting beat up and blood being shed.

I stuffed the switchblade into my pocket then I continue to struggle as they carry me by both arms and legs to the arena. I struggle and struggle til I was carelessly tossed like a doll into the arena.

"You ok, Bianca" Matt asked as the cage door was closed and locked.

"I've been better, Matt" I said.

The crowd started to stomp their feet again and cheering for our bloody end to come. On the other side of the arena, the cage door open and Boss walked inside with bandages wrapped around his bloody knuckles.

"Let the round two of the blood shed begin!" The guy on the intercom shouted . . .

-------------------------------

**Chapter Fourteen: The Punishment 2: Red of Vengeance:** Being wounded in the stomach, Boss finds this an opportunity to go after her greatest weakness, Matt.


	15. The Punishment 2: Red of Vengeance

**Chapter Fourteen: The Punishment 2: Red of Vengeance **

Boss laughed as he stared at Matt and me. "Man, you guys must be really close to die together in this arena full of people who are ready for more blood to be shed"

Matt and I started to crawl away "Matt, why is it we always get stuck in a bad situation with a metal nutcase"

"It's my fault cause I hang out with you" Matt said

"Gee thanks" I said to him.

We crawled til our backs touched the cage wall as Boss looked at us to see who should he torture first. I noticed he stared at something behind him and slightly nodded then suddenly I felt something grabbing my wrists and shoving them through the fence with great force.

"What the hell" I screamed and turned my head as far as I could and saw two guys holding on to my wrists. I started to struggle as they brought out a piece of rope, but it was too late, my wrists were tied and from the warm liquid running down my fingers my hands were cut up.

"What the hell are you doing, untie her!" Matt shouted, but the two men only laughed and back away.

Boss chuckled "My dear girl, don't you know I know how to piss you off, your strengths-" He looks at Matt and grins "your weakness"

I growled and struggled to loosen up the rope "you stay away from him or god help you, I will kill you" I shouted

Boss just chuckled again "it must be hard to watch another person you love so much being murder right in front of your own eyes" he said "Just like your brother"

I felt like my heart just skipped a beat when he mentioned my brother and he smirked "by the look on your face you're probably wondering how in the hell did he knew about that, well, let's just say the therapist you talked to doesn't keep his mouth shut" he said

--------------------------------------

Flashback:

_A week after getting out of the hospital_

"_Tell me again why I have to be here" I asked_

"_Well, sometimes it's best to talk about your survival in the dead world before you came to this place" The Therapist said _

" _What's there to say, my whole family is dead, I was in a bus crash and nearly died" I said_

"_Hmm" He said, writing things down in his notepad "Tell me, why you don't see this as a big deal" _

"_Maybe because I still have my best friend with me so it's not a total lost" I said _

"_Are you and your friend really close" He asked_

"_Yes, I've been friends with him ever since I was ten, he was eight at the time, we do everything together" I said _

_He wrote some more notes in his notepad "Tell me about your life before the dawn of the dead"_

"_Well, if you must know, it's been very crappy" _

"_What do you mean by that" He asked _

"_Mostly problems at school with girls thinking I'm weird, fat and ugly by the way I dress and act. I finished my Junior year with twenty-six detentions, three suspensions for beating up grily-girls, and my counselor didn't like the fact that I was being a bad influence on my friend who was a freshman. Plus, they think that a girl my age should get out from dressing up like a boy and start acting like a proper lady. I don't see why though, my family likes me this way and my friend didn't give a damn either."_

"_What made you want to be this way" he asked_

"_When I was eight, I was one of those types that wanted to fit in and make friends, but of course, due to my size back then, they didn't accept me. For nearly half a year of teasing, I got fed up with it and next thing I knew I got a reputation of being the girl who beat up another student at the age of eight" _

_He nodded and wrote some more stuff in his notebook._

"_Why do you need to know about this" I asked again._

"_If you must know, you and your friend were selected to be in a group due to your survival skills in the dead world and I'm just making sure you're stable enough to handle this job. _

"_What kinda group" I asked_

"_The Supply Gatherer, they go out and collect stuff for the people in the town" _

"_I don't know what the doctors told you but I have no survival skills" I said_

"_Well, from what I heard, you and your friend manage to escape from the dead in Phoenix and I also heard that you were badly wounded due to a bus crash" _

_I stared at him and he continued "but I'm wondering why you were in Phoenix in the first place" _

"_Marc thought there would be a shelter there" I said_

"_And who is this Marc person" He asked_

"_My brother's friend" I said, hiding the ring Marc gave me. "He died when the bus crashed" _

"_I"m sorry about your brother's loss" He said, "Was your brother killed by the dead" _

"_My brother wasn't killed by the dead, he was murdered" _

"_Really, want to tell me about that" He asked " I promise you, no one else will know about this" _

"_If it gets me out of here faster then fine" I said and started telling him about my past. _

_----------------------------------------_

"Your brother was murdered by an unstable girl and you were right there next to him when his head blew up right in your face"

I growled as listened to Boss talk about my Brother's death. My hands were completely numb and my arms were getting cut by the rusty gate.

"Shut up" I shouted

"What? You don't like it when I talk about your brother? Maybe, I should talk about the bus crash!" He shouted. "About that guy, who gave you that ring on your bloody finger"

"NO, SHUT YOUR FUCKEN MOUTH, YOU BASTARD" I shouted "fuck you, maybe I should talk about how that old hog was beaten to death just like Marcie. I just regret that I wasn't the one who send her to hell cause that would've been sweet!"

I would have slapped myself silly for saying that if my hands weren't tied up when Boss's face darkens from the mention of his mother. Next thing I knew, Matt crawled on top of me and rammed his arms through the cage fence to try to untie me and hissing in pain from getting cut.

"Matt, look out" I screamed

Boss grabbed Matt by the legs and started to drag him to the middle of the arena. Matt's arms were free from the gate, leaving deep cuts with blood dripping and wrapped them around my waist.

"Stop buying you some time, Boy, and let her go" Boss shouted

Matt tightens his grip on my waist, it sorta reminded me of the times when he was eight and would always give me a hug for being a good friend/bodyguard.

"Leave him alone" I shouted, but other then that I was completely helpless.

After one more yank, Matt's grip broke and was dragged away from me. He left a smeared hand prints on my shirt and a small trail of blood on the floor.

"Matt!" I shouted

He tried to crawl back to me, but Boss's slammed his foot down on his back. Matt screamed out in pain "Oh shut up, Boy and take it like a man!" Boss shouted as he lifted up his foot and slammed it down on Matt's face.

"Leave him alone" I shouted and struggled to get free.

Boss gave me a sour look as he grabbed Matt by his short hair and lifted him up to his knees. His nose started to bleed. "I can't believe a weak boy like him means so much to you, Bianca" Boss teased.

"He does, now let him go!" I shouted again

Boss frowned and let go of his hair, making Matt falls on all four. With a few blood drops falling to the floor, Matt crawled away as quickly as he can, but just when he took two steps, Boss kicked him right in the stomach.

"Matt!" I shouted as I watched him fall to the floor, clutching his stomach and coughing.

"If Bianca said she wasn't the one who killed my mother then I would have to suggest it must've been you" Boss said "let's see, how you'll like it when someone kicks you"

"No, for the love of god, leave him alone!" I shouted.

I bit my lip as I watched my best friend getting beat up by an insane monster.

------------------------------------------

"_Garret, what are we going to do" Kristine asked _

_Garret looked away from the horrible site and stared at the Trash pile where Marcie's body is starting to attract flies. _

"_There's nothing you can do, but sit here and wait for your death to come" Lindsey said, shaking and smiling. "Yup, you two and that bastard that's still knocked out will soon be zombies' bait in the next game" _

_Garret crawled over to Kristine and sat next to her "ok, we really need to get out of her before she goes nuts" He whispered. _

"_But how, we're trapped in a cage, Matt is getting beat up and Bianca is tied up right now" Kristine sighed "if only we can get to the vehicle" _

"_Hey" _

_Kristine and Garret turned around to see the same boy, who was talking to Bianca a while back, standing behind them. _

"_If your friends get killed, I can still go with ya'll when you leave right" he asked _

"_Garret, is that kid, who brought Bianca Marcie's switchblade" Kristine whispered_

"_Hey, do you think you can do us another favor" Garret asked_

"_Ok, as long as you stop calling me "Hey" and "Boy'" He said, taking another sip of his soda. _

"_Fine, what is your name then" _

"_Esteban" _

"_Ok then Estetron" Garret said _

"_That's Esteban" He said _

"_Yeah, Estecon, go to the arena and untie Bianca for us please" _

_Esteban took another sip of his soda and walked over to the arena._

"_Is he really coming with us" Kristine asked _

"_That would be up to Bianca and if we get back to the vehicle" Garret said _

"_Hey, I think Jimmy is finally waking up" Kristine said _

_They turned around to see Jimmy stirring in his sleep and crawled over to him. "It looked like he got hit pretty hard" Kristine said _

_---------------------------------_

Blood coated the floor and I was compelled to watch Matt get beaten to a bloody pulp. "Come on, Matt, you've been training for two years, I know you can fight back" I shouted.

Matt had gashes on his cheek and his lip was busted open with blood running down his chin and staining his shirt collar.

"What's a matter Boy, is this the first time your friend didn't fight your battles" Boss said. "Your Father must've really messed you up if you have to hide behind a girl"

"Yeah, he can be an ass most of the time" Matt said.

"Just think about it, all your life you'd let a girl fight your battle, doesn't that make you weak, like your father always called you"

"Matt, don't listen to him, it's brainwashing" I shouted.

Matt just looked at me for one second when a fist flew right into his face then another then another. Matt fell to the floor and started coughing up blood then his face was slammed into the thick puddle by Boss's giant hands.

"You sick motherfucker, if you don't leave him alone, I'm going to gut you alive" I shouted.

Boss laughed as he kicked Matt in the stomach again "it makes you want to wish you just stayed in Flagstaff" He said "then you wouldn't be here, watching your friend dying by my hands"

The beating continued when Boss grabbed Matt by the back of his neck, lifted him up and punched him right in the stomach. Matt called out my name, he didn't want to die like this after all the shit we've been through.

The crowd cheered from the bloodbath while others were making bets to see what fatal wound will Matt die of.

"Hey" Someone whispered

I turned my head as far to the left as I can and saw that boy with the soda, standing on his knees "what do you want" I asked

"Where's that knife you had" He asked

"It's in my pocket, untie me QUICK!" I shouted desperately.

"You don't have to spit in my face" He said, as his hands roamed through my pockets and pulled out the switchblade. I heard a clicking sound and felt my arms swinging back and forth as the boy started to cut the rope.

"Hurry, hurry" I whimpered, at least Matt was distracting Boss so he wouldn't see the boy cutting me loose.

Suddenly there was a loud boom that came from the outside. The crowd grew silent and everyone stopped what they were doing. Even Boss stopped himself from punching Matt as Matt's hand hung there with his hair clutch in Boss's hands. There were sounds of screams, cries of agony and bullets being fired.

A guy ran past the arena shouted "RUN FOR IT , THE DEAD GOT IN, THE DEAD GOT IN!"

The people started to scream and panic as they raced in different directions, pushing, shoving and steeping on each other to get away.

"Got it" He said

I pulled my arms out from the holes of the cage and ignoring the blood running back into my hands, I grabbed the switchblade from the boy and stormed over to Boss, who had his back toward me.

"I don't care if the dead came in, I'm going to finish you and your stupid friend off once and for all" Boss shouted, right into Matt's bloody ear.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM" I screamed.

As soon as Boss turned around, I swung my arm across his face. A soft mist of blood sprayed me in the face as Boss grabbed hold of his face, screaming in pain as blood runs through his fingers.

"MY EYES, YOU FUCKEN BITCH, MY EYES" Boss shouted in pain as he rolled around on the bloody floor.

I ran over to Matt when I realized he wasn't moving. I lifted him up a little bit and started wiping to blood off his face. "Matt, Matt, can you hear me" I started to shake him. "MATT!"

---------------------------------------------

_Jimmy woke up from Kristine's screaming and Lindsey shouted "We're all going to die, we're all going to die!" _

_He slowly got up and sat down on his knees and rubbed his head "What the hell is going on" he asked_

"_The dead got in, we're all going to die!" Lindsey shouted, and curled up in a little ball. _

_Jimmy stared at her then at people running and stealing things til his eyes caught the arena where Bianca was trying to revive Matt and Boss wiggling around on the floor with blood running down his arms. _

"_RUN FOR IT, THEY'RE COMING THIS WAY" A woman shouted as she ran past Jimmy and the others in the cage. _

"_Hey, can someone get us out of this cage!" Garret shouted at the people, but was ignored. _

_Jimmy looked at the lock on the cage door and took out a small black wallet and opened it up. _

"_What are those" Kristine asked _

_The wallet had small tool of different shapes and sizes. "Something my uncle taught" Jimmy said, taking one of the tools and started picking the lock "lock picking" _

_----------------------------_

"Matt, come on, Matt, open your eyes" I shouted in his face, but still didn't get a respond from him. I shook him a few more times, but nothing. As tears started to fill my eyes, I was grabbed by the collar and was pulled away from him. I turned around to see a bloody hand grabbing by shirt and Boss staring at me with his cut up eyes. When I swung the switchblade, I struck him across his right eye all the way down to his left cheek.

I was slammed to the floor and a rough hand gripped my throat and squeeze.

"Bianca, hold on, we're coming" I heard Jimmy saying.

As my windpipe was being crush, anger, stress, and sadness filled my head and spotted the knife next to me. I reached out and grabbed the knife and stabbed Boss in the arm. His grip loosens and I rolled away while releasing the knife from his flesh.

He screamed in pain as blood squirted out of his arm and I stood on my knees, taking deep breaths and coughing a little. Gripping the knife, I stood up and walked over to him and grinded my teeth. "You killed my best friend, you bastard"

"And you're about to join him" Boss screamed and tackled me to the ground.

Bad Move.

The switchblade pierced straight though the side of his stomach and he fell on top of me, gagging from the pain. I crawled out from under him and backed away a little bit to take a deep breath. My throat felt like it was on fire again. I looked at my blood soaked hand that was holding the knife and sigh.

--------------------------------------

"_I got it" Jimmy shouted and opened the cage. _

_Jimmy, Kristine and Garret ran out of the gage and looked around._

"_Oh god, they are in here" Kristine shouted and pointed to the entrance of building._

_A few zombies started to squeeze themselves into the door, moaning and growling. _

"_Dammit, we don't even know where the vehicle is" _Garret said

"_All the cars are park in the back of the town" _

_The three turned out to see Esteban, hiding behind the cage, rather pale and shaking from what was going on. _

"_Why didn't you run away" Kristine asked_

"_It was too crowded to run and it's better in here then going out there where the war is taking place. Everyone is running to the back of the cause that's where all the cars are" He said _

"_Ok, Garret, Kristine, you take the kid and bring back the vehicle while I get Bianca and Matt" _

"_We don't have any weapons to protect ourselves with" Garret said _

"_It's not that far" Esteban said _

"_Just run really fast, now go!" Jimmy shouted_

_Garret gulped and nodded then he and Kristine followed Esteban to the exit. Jimmy saw the dead getting in and walking over to them, but not before searching for people that were hiding. Jimmy turned back to the cage and saw Lindsey still sitting at the corner in a daze. _

_She looked up at Jimmy and answer his question before he could say anything. "I'm fine, just leave me here" she said, smiling. _

_Jimmy nodded, knowing she chose to end her life this way and ran over the arena. _

_----------------------------_

"Bianca!"

I looked up and saw Jimmy running over to one of the cage door and started to unlock it. I smiled for a second, but that didn't last long when I felt something grabbing my shoe. I looked back and saw Boss using my shoe to push himself over to me. "I'm not done with you yet" he said, with blood dripping down his chin.

I growled, "But I am!" I shouted, yanking my foot away and jamming the knife right in the middle of his hand and making sure it went right through the arena to hold him down. He screamed in pain and tried to reach for it when Jimmy stepped on his other hand.

"I think he'll make a good dish for the dead, don't you think" He asked

I nodded and crawled over to Matt again as Jimmy took off his belt and tied his other arm against his waist to make sure he couldn't get away. See how Boss feel being tied up, beaten and the knowledge of knowing his end is coming.

I crawled over to Matt and hugged him, ignoring the fact the dead were coming and Jimmy shouting at me for us to get out of here.

"Bianca, come on, we gotta go" He shouted

"No, I'm not leaving Matt" I said, hugging him tight.

"I know it hurts to lose someone you love, but the dead are coming"

I didn't move. "Do I have to carry you out, the others need you, I need you, and what about your parents back in Texas" Jimmy said

"Matt and I went through everything together, I always make sure he was safe and by my side and now I failed him and I don't want to live on with that guilt in my heart" I shouted.

Jimmy advance toward me and was ready to pick me up and carry me out of here but I just held onto Matt even tighter then I felt his body twitching as he started to cough a little.

Matt is Alive!

"He's alive!" I tear up a little and started to feel him breathing, it was weak, but he was breathing.

"Move" Jimmy shouted

Jimmy pushed me aside and lifted Matt up onto his shoulders. "Be careful with him" I said

"I am, now come on, Garret and the others are already gone" He said

I quickly walked out of the cage arena and was nearly grabbed by a few zombies, we're so lucky they were slow. I turned back and saw that the dead were entering the arena and headed over to Boss.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH, GET BACK OVER HERE!" He shouted.

He struggled to get the knife loose from his hand, causing him to scream out in more pain and more blood to pour out of his wounds. An ugly, decomposed hand grabbed hold of Boss's arm and bit off a huge chunk of flesh and before Boss could scream again, another hand grabbed the corner of his mouth and ripped.

We exit the building, only to more commotion outside as people were running left and right, others shooting and throwing explosives at the army of dead people.

"It's too crowded and dangerous to run, what are we going to do"

"EVERYONE, DUCK!" We heard Garret's voice.

I turned to our left and saw our vehicle, driving over with guns and fire arms ready to be use. The people around them fell to their stomachs and shots were fired at the dead. I fell to the floor and covered my ears as more bullets were fired and I felt some of them flying just above my head.

I felt my ears popping before going death for a second when everything stopped. I looked up, my hearing was gone for a minute as I watched some of the people getting up and running over to any car or vehicle they can find to get out of this outpost.

Jimmy tugged my shirt to run as Garret stopped the vehicle just ten feet away from us. I ran over to the vehicle and Kristine opened the sliding door. More of the dead were coming as I got into the vehicle and Kristine slammed the door.

My hearing was back, I just hear a low beeping noise "Let's get out of here" I shouted

Garret nodded and drove the vehicle right through the gate, opening a path for the others to escape. I hope there's an outpost near by for them.

I raced to the back, pushing Kristine, Jimmy and the boy that came with us, away and sat on my knees next to the bed where Matt was lying down at.

His breathing was weak as I stared at his beat up face.

"Please don't die" I whispered

_Please . . . _

_-------------------------------------------_

**Chapter Fifteen: Home: **With their journey coming to a close, Matt struggles to hang onto dear life. Bianca question herself if this was all worth it if she loses her best friend.


	16. Home

**Chapter Fifteen: Home**

Matt hasn't woken up since we left the Albuquerque Outpost, I'm still trying to figure out how the dead got inside in the first place. I pondered over that question as Kristine wrapped bandages around my arms. They were badly cut when I got tied up in the arena and it took nearly an hour to stop the bleeding. Great, it just added another scar to my exhausted body.

"We're almost at El Paso, just another twenty miles" Garret said.

Garret was getting a little annoying with the boy named Este...something, who was looking at all the buttons, t.v. screens and levers that surrounded the steering wheel. He's been asking Garret the same question over and over again "what does this button do?"

Garret didn't want to complain, since thanks to this kid, we were able to get out of that outpost alive. But we all have one thing on our minds that night.

"Are we there yet" Kristine asked

"For the last time, no, Kristine" Garret said

She sighed, but smiled at she put the finishing touches on my bandages. "I'm glad to see you're not dead, Bianca, I don't know what we do without you" she said

I tried to smile, but the pain was preventing me to put a grin on my face. When she finished my entire arms below my elbows were wrapped up, my hands had band-Aids from the cuts as well. With the stab wound in my stomach, the gash on my left arm just below the shoulder and the hand print bruise on my neck and the faded ones still showing, I don't think my parents are going to recognize me when we get to Lubbock.

I saw Garret yawning, a matter of fact, everyone looked tired after the event that happen earlier today. "Garret, let's stop here for tonight" I said

Garret looked at me "Are you sure" he asked

I nodded "I think everyone could use a little sleep" I said.

Garret shrugged "ok, you're the leader" he said, stopping the vehicle in the middle of the street.

"Are we safe in here" Esteron asked

"If it wasn't, we would be dead by now" I said.

He looked at me like I was some crazy person, HA, he has no idea of the word crazy after all that I've been through.

-----------------------------------------------

Kristine fell asleep in one of the top beds, Garret wouldn't get away from the steering wheel thinking I was going to take over driving. Math was lying down in my bed, shaking in his sleep with his eyes shut tight and his teeth grinding.

What's-his-face, Esteron, was sleeping in another bed, with a big smile on his face, knowing he was out of that outpost. I spent the next forty minutes, cleaning and bandaging up Matt's wounds. His face was swollen and had gashes on his cheek and it took me nearly ten minutes to stop the nose bleed. Afterwards, I sat next to Matt's bed, holding his cut up hand as he struggled in his sleep, I wondered if it was from nightmares or pain.

"Don't you die on me, Matt" I whispered in the cold night.

I was tired, but I didn't want to sleep knowing my friend was in a critical condition. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me"

He was squeezing my hand, all right, literally digging his nails into my skin. He was cutting through my skin that wasn't bandaged up, but I didn't care.

"Matt, you know me, you're my best friend and the only family I have left in this world if my parents aren't alive" I whispered to him.

A small thin trail of blood started to run down my hand as he squeezed my hand harder. I hissed in pain, but continue to hold his hand.

"Bianca"

I looked up at the open ceiling door and saw Jimmy poking his head in "You want to come up here and keep me company" he asked

I look at Matt, who seems to have finally calm down and his grip on my hand loosens and I looked up at Jimmy. "Sure"

I climbed up the stairs and onto the roof and sat down next to Jimmy. A cool breeze blew into my face and I sigh, since we're heading to Texas, the winter over there is going to be colder than in Arizona. I don't mind, I haven't seen snow in ten years and I really did miss eating it.

"How's your wound" He asked

"I haven't been thinking about it lately with the whole "my former boss trying to kill me" thing" I said

Jimmy laughed "want me to have a look"

I blushed and moved away from him a bit and he just rolled his eyes and smiled "I wish you would stop looking at me like I'm a pervert"

"Sorry, just ignore me, I've been under a lot of stress" I said.

He nodded "are you still bleeding" he asked

"I can't tell, it's too dark for me to see" I said "but I know my hand is bleeding thanks to Matt"

I wiped my hands on my pants and looked up at the sky.

"We got company" Jimmy said

I looked down and saw a few zombies walking over to the vehicle and tried to climb it. All they are doing is tearing off their nails when they scratch the metal wall.

"You ever wonder if this disaster will ever end" Jimmy asked

"It's been two years and they're still here" I said

"True, but this can't last forever" he said

"It won't" I said

"You think so"

"Yeah, once we're all dead, then it will be over" I said

Jimmy signed, I guess he was hoping for a better answer than that, but it's better then lying about it. There was dead silence between us, the only sounds were heard was the wind and the moans of the dead.

"So, what are you planing on doing when you get to Texas" he asked

"I don't know, I bet they have Supply Gatherers there too" I said

"You don't mind doing that job again" He asked

"As long they don't have "punishments" like Boss did" I said. "It's hard to get use to those beatings"

"Oh, well at least he got what he deserves, Boss is now Zombie food" Jimmy said.

"I think he got off too easy after what he did to my friend"

"He'll make it" Jimmy said

"That's not the point" I said, "when I was little, I promise myself that I will always protect him from harm. Watching my friend gets beat to an inch of his life was the worst ten minutes of my life"

I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face in them to hide the tears that were coming out of my eyes. Damn, I hate crying in front of people, but I couldn't stop myself.

I heard Jimmy sighing then felt his arm wrapping around my back and pulling me close to him. In the cold night, I felt warmth and ashamed knowing I didn't like him that way like he did about me. But with Matt in critical condition, I needed a shoulder to lean on and he was right there.

We stay that way for an hour til I fell asleep.

------------------------------

It was the late afternoon when we made it to El Paso and decided to stay there of a day to resupply, refuel and get something to eat.

"What is this meat again" Garret asked, looking at his burger.

We sat round a small dirty table that was next to a man and his family that were grilling and selling burgers with soda and chips.

"It must be something because I haven't seen a cow in a year" Kristine said.

Jimmy didn't even bother figuring out what type of meat it was, he was shoving down that burger likes there's no tomorrow. Este-whatever was sipping his soda, Kristine was poking her burger and Garrret was just staring at his.

I stared at my food, a burger with stale chips, but my stomach and head were hurting too much to eat. My arms were still wrapped in bandages, but I manged to clean myself up and change into a new set of clothing.

A small boy came over with another can of soda "here you go, mister" he said to Jimmy.

Jimmy swallowed the last bit of burger and grabbed the soda "Thanks kid and tell your old man that he makes a great burger" he said

"Ok" the little boy said

"Hey, what kinda meat is it anyway" Garret asked

"It's dog" the little boy said before running off.

Estron spit out his soda and Garret dropped his burger. "Ew, you've been eating dog, Jimmy" Kristine said

Jimmy stared at her and said "are you going to eat that"

Kristine push for plate to him and Jimmy started eating again. I smiled and got up from the table.

"Where are you going Bianca" Garret asked

"I'm just going to walk around a bit" I said

"Do you want us to come with you" Kristine asked

"No, I'll be fine, I'll meet you back at the vehicle in an hour" I said, then walked off. "And make sure you buy something warm, it might be snowing in Texas"

I heard them shouting ok then I disappeared into the crowd. With one of the Hag's jewels, I manage to buy two warm thick sweaters for Matt and me and another first aid kit.

The woman, who sold the items to me, stared at my beat-up body and blood stained bandages, but I just smiled and said "Zombie Games"

"Oh, my son plays in those dangerous games" she said.

"Yeah, they're my favorite games as well" I said, then walked away.

-----------------------------

The El Paso Outpost looked like a nice place to live as I continue to explore the area. There were sure more buildings and places for people to sleep in than on the street. But just like any outpost, they had the building where the Zombie Games were being held. I heard the music and the screams and cheers of the crowds. They were probably watching a person getting beat to death.

I left that place with a sick feeling in my stomach again.

I made it back to the vehicle before the others did and spotted Matt sitting on the roof, deep in thought. I continue to stare at him, his whole face was bruise and cut up, til his eyes connected with mine. Without another word said, I took my time climbing up the ladder on the side of the vehicle and onto the roof. I walked over to him, fell to my knees and hugged him, really tight.

"Don't you ever leave me like that again" I said, burying my face in his back.

"You almost left me, maybe I'm just showing you how it feels"

I punched him hard in the arm "I don't need your bullshit, right now" I said, then hugged him again.

He gently grabbed one of my hands and stared at the smiley shape cuts in my skin. The cuts he gave me when he was squeezing my hand so hard last night, "I'm sorry" He said.

I continue to hug him as he just stared out at the town. "I'm the one who should be sorry, I couldn't protect you" I said

He looked at me "Your hands were tied up and you shouldn't be feeling guilty when I couldn't prevent you from getting stabbed by that psycho bitch."

"Well, I didn't know that she was going to pull that kinda stunt on me" I said

We both stared at each other and sighed "why do we always get stuck with the crazy ones" We said at the same time.

I chuckled a little bit and hugged him again, not evening caring that people were walking by and staring at us.

--------------------

It was the next morning when we were saying our good-byes to Estebin.

I shook his hand "thanks for everything again, I would've been dead without your help"

"Your welcome and thanks for bringing me here" he said.

I smiled and walked inside the vehicle, everybody crowded the sliding door. "Bye Esteton" Everyone beside Matt and me said.

"That's Esteb-" Garret slammed the door before he could finish.

"El Paso, here we come" Garret said

"And I'm driving the rest of the way" I said.

"Are you up for it" Jimmy asked

I sat down in the seat and started up the engine, "with my calculation, we should be there in eight hours" I said.

"I wanted to drive"

"Garret, you've been driving for the past six hours the last time" Kristine said

Garret rolled his eyes and went to the back. Matt sat in the passenger's chair and smiled at me. I returned the smiled and shifted the vehicle in to drive and waited for the gate to open.

"And we're off, once again" I said as I exit the outpost and back into the world of the dead.

We were half way there when a gentle snow storm hit and the land were covered in the white powder stuff.

"Wow, look at all the snow" Kristine said, looking out the window. "It's so beautiful"

"More like cold" Garret said, shivering.

"Well, that's what you get for buying food then something warm to wear" Jimmy said.

Lucky for Garret, he was already wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt. I looked around the land, I saw the shallow snow covering up the Zombies that were walking around. Man, it sucks that the cold couldn't kill them.

"Are we there yet" Kristine asked.

"We should be there soon, maybe in another couple of hours" I said.

Another two hours past by when we finally reached the outpost of Lubbock Texas and a tear fell down my eye from disbelief. After all the hell I've been through I was finally here, "We're finally here" I said

"Our new home" Matt said

"New victims to steal from" Jimmy said

"A new place to build cars" Garret said

"To have a new beginning" Kristine said

I grabbed the BC radio "This is Bianca from the outpost of Flagstaff Arizona and would like permission to enter please"

"What is your reason for being here after traveling this far" A woman said on the radio.

"To start a new life" I said.

The gates opened.

--------------------------

_A woman walked around the town, trying to find out if the rumors were true. A group of teenagers arrived with one of those Vehicles that were use to go out to gather food. _

_The last group that did that job died and since no one wanted to replace them, they were running out of food. She hasn't eaten in days and if the rumors were true then their food problems would be over. _

_She walked over to the entrance of the gate and saw a huge crowd gathering around the giant vehicle called "The Monster" and the woman smiled. _

_She was pushed and shoved as more people ran past her to see the vehicle that she bumped into a tall boy._

"_Sorry" he said _

_She turned around and looked up at the tall, dirty blonde, blue-eye boy and felt like all her air was sucked out of her. "Matt?" _

_Matt's eyes widened, it didn't take him that long to realize who this woman was. He grabbed the girl, who was next to him, arm and made her turn around. The girl turned around and stared at the woman's widen, teary, eyes and didn't know what to say expect . . . _

"_Hello . . . Mother" _

_-----------------------------------_

**Next the Epilogue: Bianca talks to her father.**


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Father's Grave**

"So that's my story" I said to my father.

I sat in the cold snow, not evening caring that my butt was now numb and my pants were wet and stared at the grave stone.

"Mom told me that I'll find you here and I'm glad that over here they bury you in the ground instead of treating you like trash and throw you away" I said.

I reached out and wiped the snow off my father's gravestone then trace the letters with my finger.

"I hope you liked the story, because I didn't make up" I said "I spent weeks in a Wal-Mart store, I was right there when Eric was murdered and I was rescued and treated like shit for two years. I was nearly killed dozens of times and that's only from the trip over here" I said

I stared at my father's grave and hugged my jacket close due to the cold.

"Mom told me how you died, you pushed her out of the way to prevent her from being eaten. Yeah, being a Supply Gatherer really sucks, I guess Mom didn't want to do that job anymore afterwards." I said

A new coat of snow stated to form on his gravestone as I sat there, thinking.

"Why did I survive this . . . how would you call it . . . the end of the world thing. No, I wouldn't call it the end of the world since there are still people alive all over the world. I guess I would call it an epidemic that still hasn't died yet" I said

I shook my head "but that's not the point, I did survived, after all, with this whole thing happening it's hard for anyone to believe in hope anymore. Yet somehow, after all that happened I'm still here"

A small gust of wind blew into my face and I heard the sounds of moaning. I looked up at the electric fence that was just a few meters away and spotted a zombie walking over to the fence. I ignored it and stared at the gravestone again.

"I don't know how to explain it, maybe I was destined to die in another way then by a zombie, but whatever the reason for me still living, I just glad I am alive. I don't know who could take care of Matt if I was dead." I said

Another gust of wind blew into my face and pieces of snowflakes fly into my hair.

"So I guess the trip wasn't a total lost knowing Mom is not alone anymore and you can finally rest in peace knowing the whereabouts of me."

"Bianca"

I turned around to see Matt walking over "Come on, you've been there for an hour, your mom wants to take us to the hospital to treat our injuries" Matt said.

"Coming, hold on" I shouted back.

I placed my hand on my father's grave "I love you dad and say hi to Eric for me up there" I said as I was getting up from the ground.

"I'll come and visit you everyday" I said then walked over to Matt.

"Had a nice talk with your dad" He asked

"Yeah" I said, holding on to his arm as we started walking out of the graveyard.

"I told you this place was worth the risk" I said.

Matt just smiled and said nothing, but he knew I was right.

I looked back at the Zombie that was still walking over to the electric fence. Its' arms were extended out and were ready to touch the wire. I started to count down before it was electrocuted.

5...4...3...2...

To be continued . . .

-------------------------------------

**Check out part three call: A Cruel Twist of Fate. **

**I dedicate this story to: **

**My brother: Eric (_I miss you_) **

**My Friends: Matt, Kristine, Garret, Esteban, Meredith (_she loves gory stories_) **

**Marc: who introduce me to Zombie Movies. **


End file.
